The Maya of Copan were natural born artists; the art found within the City exhibits a greater level of expertise & commitment to artistic expression than at other sites around the Maya World.

Copan is best known by the quality and quantity of their carved monuments. Their artists had a unique grasp of working stone to give life to the scenes they depicted. They experimented starting with a bas relief style of carving such as is seen in the earliest monument at Copan Stela 63, which is characterized by the rigidity of the main character in the sculpture. With time their style of carving evolved, becoming more realistic and elaborate. By the time of Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil Copan achieved its artistic climax; as evidenced by the large amount of buildings he ordered built, but especially by the stelae that name & portray him. The sculptors of these stelae made use of a bold new technique using a three dimensional approach.

Copan 's rulers used art as a means of emphasizing their image and telling the story from their own point of view, promoting their perspective on events. They additionally used their sculpture to tie themselves with the founder of the dynasty. There are many sculptures where one king is seen passing an object to another, such is the case of Altar Q, where the complete sequence of rulers is portrayed, and the founder of the Dynasty K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' is seen passing an object, presumably the staff of office, to Yax Pasaj Chan Yoaat. In between there are 14 other kings holding the same object. Another important element of Altar Q; each ruler is seated on top of a Name Glyph. Each glyph is unique and advancement in Epigraphy has led to the correct reading of some of these glyphs as the name or nickname of the king seated on top of each. Some of these ancient rulers have been located in the Archaeological Record and their last places of rest were identified.

Architecture and sculpture merged into one and served as a scenario for the rulers to perform their ceremonies for the public. From the Early Classic Period, everything- including artistic expression- was carefully articulated as a part of an ever increasingly sophisticated ruling apparatus. The facades of buildings were richly adorned with mosaic sculpture, often depicting the use of the building it adorned, with the added benefit that no two buildings had the same decoration. Such is the case of the now gone Structure 20 nicknamed the House of the Bats, excavated before the course of the Copan River was diverted, these excavations yielded many mosaic bats, the place where these bats were found suggest they were part of the façade of the building, as is seen in Structure 22A or the House of Council. The purpose for the House of Bats has not yet been discovered, but perhaps one day it will…

The historical hieroglyphic text written on a stela would cite a ruler's lineage, his date of accession to the throne, or an important event during his term at office (completion of a Katun for example), his conquests and the names of his parents, while the iconography would depict his image, his clothing and in general would show his strength and prosperity. The stelae, therefore, became the favorite instruments of rulers and nobles to explain “the official history”. Of all the hieroglyphic text yet found none is larger or more ambitious in its subject matter that the Hieroglyphic Stairway which attempts to narrate the complete history of Copan, unfortunately by the time this colossal work was commissioned there were not enough resources, or the previous artists where not available, to do the stairway in the same tradition of quality as is found in earlier monuments & sculptures in Copan.

Besides from the art portrayed by the buildings themselves and the sculptures that can be seen at the Copan and their surrounding areas there are additional works of art that were not created in stone. Such is the case of the amazing flint eccentrics, which can be seen at the Copan Sculpture Museum; these complicated works of art are very delicate and required expertise that is now lost to us, as most modern day flintknappers would tell you the knowledge is beyond them. Bone was also a good canvas to display their artistry, in one of the original excavations a carved peccary cranium was found which has yielded surprising bits of information as new knowledge about epigraphy and iconography is gained.

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