  "Copan is unique among Classic Maya centers because of its extremely long history of field research, which essentially incorporates the whole tradition of American Archaeology. Also unusual is that this research has involved independent projects from many institutions, sometimes working simultaneously, each with its own goals, theoretical frameworks, and methods.
" --Copan, The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Maya Kingdom, Webster, Freter and Gonlin. In 1530 a local chief called Copan Calel led an uprising against the Spanish; after his defeat his name became attached to the ruins. The original Classic Maya Name (as recently deciphered)is Xukpi. John Stevens (who mapped the area) and Frederick Catherwood (who rendered beautiful drawings) visited the site in 1839. Catherwood's lithographs are now famous. Alfred Maudslay, supported by Harvard's Peabody Museum worked during field seasons from 1881 to 1895.
Carnegie Archaeologists worked at Copan from 1935-1946 with a two year haitus during WWII. Gordon Willey of Harvard University initiated the most recent epoch of Copan research in 1977 (to 1979)focusing intensive archaeological investigations on sites outside the Main Group. Harvard Archaeologists surveyed and remapped the Las Sepulturas urban enclave, improving on Burgh's original survey. A long term, ongoing study of Copan's architecture was begun in 1970 by two Austrian doctoral students in architecture , Hasso Hohmann and Annegrete Vogrin.
In 1977 the Honduran government, through its agencies of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History began a large-scale Archaeological project at Copan. The Authors of Copan, the Rise and Fall of an Ancient Maya Kingdom Acknowledge many people with regard to essential field and laboratory research carried out during their PAC II and related projects. Among them are Glenn Storey, Rebecca Storey (UH), Randolph Widmer(UH). 
