August 15- Ancient ruins to modern rural life

 In the morning, I walked up the hill from the hotel to a small Mayan ruin, Rastrojon. It was interesting to see the restoration being done. We then, traveled to Copan Ruins, one of the first Mayan ruins excavated in 1895. Copan was at its height in the 8th century, and was typically Mayan with a church at the center, then a plaza/market, then city hall/government buildings, then individual dwellings outside area-this shows the importance levels. They had paved roads and tunnels under the pyramids. Older buildings have been found underneath newer ones. The ancient Maya used hieroglyphics to record happenings. Copan may have been primarily a king's cemetery, with many death references, and mostly temples, not dwellings. (Note: Egyptian pyramids were designed to be used inside, and Mayan pyramids designed to be used on exterior flat surfaces.)

The first kings were priests, and 'magicians'-using astronomy/science to wield knowledge or power. Altars were used for blood sacrifices. Current reconstructions are estimations and possibly up to 60% incorrect. The Mayas had books with fig tree paper and lime water painting, but all of these (except 4 in museums) were destroyed by Spaniards. They buried their dead in hope for rebirth like planting crops.Kings erected stelae to honor themselves, and each destroyed the monuments of the last one.

The ball court was important in each city but the exact use and play are not known, just hypothesized. The myth says that the Hero Twins bothered the Land of Death, so they had to go to the Underworld to play. The Twins are now the Sun and Moon who have to go 'below ground' each day to play ball. To play the game, players had to hit a hard ball off their bodies (no hands/feet), possibly into stone hoops. The losers were often beheaded.

In the afternoon, we had an optional horseback ride into the mountains to visit a small poor village, La Pintada, and take them treats. As at every stop, we were mobbed by craft sellers-here, corn husk dolls. We toured the very basic homes, with outside, covered kitchens. The dogs were very underfed, as the people themselves had little. The school was nicely kept and painted. I met Milton, a boy who was trying to get money to buy books for school, and I helped him a bit toward that goal.

Dinner was in town, and it was interesting, as they did not want large vehicles breaking the cobblestone streets, so they built a, arched gate that large vehicles could not pass through. Our bus barely made it.