APPENDIX IV. 
A DESCRIPTION OF THE RUINS OF COPAN, BY DIEGO GARCIA DE PALACIO. 
IN 1576.1 
“Near here, on the road to the city of San Pedro, in the first town within the 
province of Honduras, called Copan, are certain ruins and vestiges of a great popu- 
lation and of superb edifices, of such skill and splendour that it appears that they 
could never have been built by the natives of that province. They are found on 
the banks of a beautiful river in an extensive and well-chosen plain, which is tem- 
perate in climate, fertile, and abounding in fish and game. Amongst the ruins are 
mounds which appear to have been made by the hand of man, as well as many 
other remarkable things. 
“Before arriving at them we find the remains of thick walls, and a great eagle 
in stone, having on its breast a tablet a yard square, and on it certain characters 
which are not understood. On arriving at the ruins we find another stone in the 
form of a giant, which the elders amongst the Indians aver was the guardian of the 
sanctuary. Entering into it we find a cross of stone, three palms in height, with 
one of the arms broken off. Further on we come to ruins, and among them, stones 
sculptured with much skill; also a great statue, more than four yards in height, 
which resembles a bishop in his pontifical robes with a well-wrought mitre (on his 
head) and rings on his fingers. 
“Near this is a well-built plaza or square with steps, such as writers tell us are 
in the Coliseum at Rome. In some places there are eighty steps, in part at least 
of fine stone, finished and laid with much skill. 
“In this square are six great statues, three representing men, covered with 
mosaic work and with garters round their legs, their weapons covered with orna- 
ments; two of the others are of women with long robes and head-dress in the Roman 
style. The remaining statue is of a bishop, who appears to hold in his hand a box 
or small coffer. They seem to have been idols, for in front of each of them is a large 
stone with a small basin and a channel cut in it, where they executed the victim 
and the blood flowed off. We found also small altars used for burning incense. 
In the centre of the square is a large basin of stone which appears to have been 
used for baptism, and in which, also, sacrifices may have been made in common. 
After passing this square we ascend by a great number of steps to a high place 
which appears to have been devoted to mitotes and other ceremonies; it seems to 
have been constructed with the greatest care, for through the whole of it there can 
still be found stone excellently worked. On one side of this structure is a tower or 
terrace, very high, and overhanging the river which flows at its base. 
1The above description of Copan is extracted from a letter written by the Licenciado Doctor Don Diego 
Garcia de Palacio, Oidor of the Audencia Real of Guatemala, on March 8, 1576, to Philip II, King of Spain. 
Squier, in the title of his translation of this letter, gives the following subtitle, which adequately summarizes 
its contents: “ Being a Description of the Ancient Provinces of Guazacapan, Izalco, Cuscatlan, and Chiquimula, 
in the Audiencia of Guatemala: with An Account of the Languages, Customs and Religion of their Aboriginal 
Inhabitants, and a Description of the Ruins of Copan.” (Squier, 1860, p. I.) 
This letter has been published in four English editions, four Spanish editions, two French editions, and one 
German edition (see bibliography, p. 624), but because of its unusual importance in the present connection, being 
no less than the first description of Copan by an eye-witness known, it is republished here. 
The region covered by Palacio’s report, the four Indian provinces mentioned in Squier’s subtitle, lies to the 
west, southwest, south, and southeast of Copan, roughly in that part of Central America where the Republics 
of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador come together at Cerro Brujo. The translation quoted above is by 
Squier (1860, pp. 88-97), revised slightly by Maudslay (1889-1902, vol. 1 of text, pp. 5-7.) 
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