54 THE INSCRIPTIONS AT COPAN. 
katun. Indeed, in a recent article’ Spinden has accepted this threefold 
division of the Old Empire as suggested by the writer, not only for chrono- 
logical purposes, but also for stylistic classification as well. 
Giving due weight therefore to both lines of evidence, stylistic as well 
as chronologic, it has seemed best to subdivide the Old Empire, the inscrip- 
tions of which at Copan form the subject of the present investigation, into 
three periods as follows: 
The Early Period. From the earliest times down to 9.10.0.0.0. 
The Middle Period. From 9.10.0.0.0 to 9.15.0.0.0. 
The Great Period. From 9.15.0.0.0 to 10.2.0.0.0.? 
Having defined the limits of the several periods as hereinafter used, let 
us next ascertain what monuments at Copan may be referred to the Early 
Period. As already stated, the inscriptions at this city are more numerous 
than those of any other Maya site, and although they date from every period 
of its occupation as would naturally be expected, they are especially numerous 
from the Early Period. Indeed, in this latter respect Copan is surpassed 
only by Tikal, the great northern metropolis of the Old Empire, and prob- 
ably her most powerful rival (plate 1). 
So archaic and fragmentary are some of these earliest texts at Copan 
that it has been impossible to decipher them exactly and assign them to 
their proper positions in Maya chronology. That they precede the earliest 
surely dated monuments there, however, is clear from the earlier character 
of their glyphs. These are carved in very low relief, in some cases being little 
more than incised. ‘The technique is crude and the style undeveloped. 
They present, moreover, certain technical similarities with the most archaic 
inscriptions at Tikal, which are apparently of about the same period, notably 
in the irregularity of the outlines of the individual glyph-blocks, as shown in 
Stela 20 for example (plate 9, ) and figures 9 and 10), and in the omission of 
ornamental elements in the bar and dot numerals for 1, 6, 11, and 16, as shown 
in Altars X and Y (plate 8,c, ai, and plate 8, b, ai), and Stela 17 (plate 11, a, 
B3). Finally, pronounced complexity and elaboration in glyphic details are 
also characteristic of the sculptures of the Early Period, as shown in the 
extensive use of parallel lines in Stela 24 (figure 13), Stela 15 (plate 12), 
Stela 7 (plate 13), and Stela E (plate 14, a—c) for example. 
Toward the close of the Early Period at Copan notable advances were 
made in the art of sculpture. The portrayal of the human figure was 
attempted, and although the earliest efforts in this direction are somewhat 
lifeless, as in the case of Stele 18, 7, E, and P, for example, they clearly 
forecast the sculptural brilliance which was to follow a hundred years later. 

1Spinden, 1917, pp. 130-132. 
2The several periods of Maya history are given in Appendix II (see p. 505), and their presentation will not 
be anticipated here, except to note that there were two general divisions: the Old Empire extending from the 
earliest times to 10.2.0.0.0 and the New Empire from 9.14.0.0.0 to the Spanish Conquest in 1541. As Copan 
was probably abandoned before 10.2.0.0.0, only the Old Empire and its subdivisions concern us in the present 
connection. 
