Altar Q is the Copán monument that shows the site’s 16 dynastic rulers seated around its four sides.
Created in AD 776 during the reign of Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, Altar Q presents four full-body rulers on each side. The sequence begins with K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’, the dynasty’s founder, and ends with the ruler who commissioned the monument. Each figure is associated with identifying hieroglyphs, making the altar both a portrait gallery and a historical record.
The monument was political propaganda as well as history. Its imagery presents the current king receiving royal insignia from the founder, visually linking the living ruler to Copán’s origins centuries earlier. The dynastic sequence spans roughly 350 years, from the dynasty’s establishment in AD 426 to the late eighth century.
Altar Q is sometimes confused with Copán’s many stelae and other altars, but its distinctive clue is the complete set of 16 seated rulers—four on each side. It was originally placed by Structure 16 and is now displayed in the Copán Sculpture Museum.