Completion of Technical Registers, Archival Updates and Storage of Archaeological Materials from Tomb 08-01 in the Oropendola Temple

Tomb 08-01 belongs to one of the earliest rulers of Copan dated to about 450 to 500 A.D.  It yielded a large sample of ceramic pots, jade necklaces and earrings, and exotic marine shells. As required by Honduran law, the materials from this tomb are housed in Copan’s archaeological research center (CRIA).  In 2015 the Copan Association received critical support from CMF in order to complete the primary registers, archival updates and storage of archaeological materials from Tomb 08-01 in the Oropéndola Temple.  More than 1000 artifacts coming from this tomb and made of shell, pearl, greenstone (jade), pyrite, mica, bone and other materials were measured, weighed, photographed and registered. Ceramic materials from the tomb and its surrounding context were also analyzed. This process included the cleaning, marking, re-packaging and storing of about 17,500 potsherds. Complimentary field data was also gathered and recorded with photographs and drawings. In all, the work carried out by this project, both in the laboratory and in the field, generated more than 4,000 digital images.  As part of this effort, we also rescued, sorted, standardized and housed the data from six old computers that the Copan Association has used over the years as part of the research on Temple 10L-16. The information on these units is valuable reference material and is now housed in the Copan Association library as well as in the CRIA.