that size suggests copan was then a chiefdom. the name of the ruler who actually commemorated this stela appears up here on the side of the monument. keach: although archaeologists can't yet read his name, he describes himself here as having an eye like the sun. later kings would use the same description for themselves. in the next glyph, he says that his father was the man named in a third glyph -- the founder of the dynasty. this is the earliest evidence that copan rulers passed their rank to heirs. a big man could not do that. to some archaeologists, this was evidence of ongoing leadership, of a ranked society, a chiefdom. after the reign of the first kings of copan, the population continued to grow to about 15,000 by a.d. 700. at this level, some societies begin to form states -- political organizations where real power is centralized. but was there evidence that the highest ranking chief actually consolidated rulership to become head of state here ? these are stelae of the twelfth ruler of copan, a man named smoke imix. as k

at copan, that king was 18 rabbit. the hieroglyphic staircase was built by his successors in a symbolic attempt to assert the status of copan's ruling dynasty. so in fact, we believe the stairway is a beautiful example of political propaganda. they were trying to make up for the fact that they lost the thirteenth king in war by projecting an image of all of the copan kings as glorious and powerful warriors. keach: and so the elaborate inscriptions of the ancient maya were created largely to bolster the power of their rulers. 3,000 years before the maya, and thousands of miles away in ancient mesopotamia, the sumerians used writing for a very different purpose -- the creation of political, religious and literary texts. and the primary use -- economic record-keeping. i think one reason why sumer had such a different orientation with regard to its writing system is that their economic system was very much more complicated. they had a much more urban-based economy with a lot more craft specialization and a lot more trade.

copan had two. no one knows for sure how the ancient maya played the game, but in mexico today a number of variations still exist. two teams face off and hit a rubber ball back and forth, using only their hips. the idea is to keep the ball in play. in an ancient painting, the maya are shown playing the game. only kings and nobles participated, so the player's dress, though likely uncomfortable, was an indication of high status. linda schele is an epigrapher, a scholar who translates hieroglyphs and interprets maya art. now, this is, on the one hand, the sports arena, but on the other hand it's a great container for royal theater. most of all, for the king, it is a place of public performance. that performance is on sometimes the level of sports. but if you think sort of like the world cup, the great soccer championship, or the olympics, or the final four in college basketball -- those are sports, but they're also an arena for politics. the president of the united states throws out the first ball in

their "discoveries" included the ruins at copan. but interest in the lost civilization began to accelerate in the 18th century when father antonio de solis traveled to palenque and other maya sites. his accounts of the ruins of the once great civilization caught the attention of the king of spain. wave after wave of spanish explorers came to mexico, sending reports and sketches back to madrid. the grandeur of what remained at palenque convinced one of the king's emissaries, antonio del rio, that what he saw was the result of contact with the ancient romans. del rio's reports were published in 1822 with illustrations by jean-frederic waldeck, who also documented the ancient maya ruins at palenque. he made watercolor drawings of the architecture, landscape, and sculpted reliefs. in trying to make sense of the puzzling details, in o inse sertg waeceleps ade none he- hieroglyicanel. in the l anher pair of travelers began to wrestle with the riddle of the ancient maya. the englishman erick cathwood, roh s inugh his drings, captured the a

their "discoveries" included the ruins at copan. but interest in the lost civilization began to accelerate in the 18th century when father antonio de solis traveled to palenque and other maya sites. his accounts of the ruins of the once great civilization caught the attention of the king of spain. wave after wave of spanish explorers came to mexico, sending reports and sketches back to madrid. the grandeur of what remained at palenque convinced one of the king's emissaries, antonio del rio, that what he saw was the result of contact with the ancient romans. del rio's reports were published in 1822 with illustrations by jean-frederic waldeck, who also documented the ancient maya ruins at palenque. he made watercolor drawings of the architecture, landscape, and sculpted reliefs. in trying to make sense of the puzzling details, o inse sertg waeceleps ade none he- hieroglyic panel. in the lat anher pair of travelers began to wrestle with the riddle of the ancient maya. the englishman erick cathwood, roh s inugh his drings, captured the