For two centuries, the glorious palaces and pyramids of the Maya
civilization of Central America have fascinated experts and the
public alike. Who were these people and how did they build such
amazing constructions in the midst of inacessible and hostile
landscapes? It was clear to the intrepid explorers who uncovered
these monuments, that the hieroglyphic inscriptions of the Mayas
held the key to the mystery of this ancient society that had
reached its intellectual and cultural zenith while Europe lumbered
on in the Dark Ages. Recent breakthroughs in deciphering the Maya
hieroglyphics - compared in importance with that of the Egyptian
hieroglyphs - have revealed a wealth of information about the
history, religion, political organization and art of the Mayas.
Drew traces these historic developments in cracking the Maya code
alongside concurrent discoveries in archaeology. What emerges from
the pages of this very readable study, is a vivid picture of the
characters of the Maya kings, whose old, romantic image as
benevolent, scholarly priest-kings has been replaced with a very
different one of belligerent, war-makers with a penchant for
human-sacrifice. A thoughtful exploration of a mysterious and
complex society. (Kirkus UK)
A fascinating history of the Maya - drawing on a wealth of recent
archaeological discoveries - whose civilisation in the jungles of
Central America was for almost a thousand years hidden from the
world. Over the last two centuries explorers have made the most
remarkable discoveries in the tropical forests of Central America.
Across much of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras
dozens of cities - some with populations of well over 100,000 -
have been unveiled, and every year fresh reports emerge of the
findings of unknown Maya ruins - great temples, palaces, towering
stone pyramids and the tombs of the Maya kings. What these
spectacular discoveries indicate is the former presence of an
exceptionally advanced, sophisticated and complex society.
Recently, major developments made in the decipherment of Maya
hieroglyphics have revealed that alongside the material
achievements of the Maya ran intellectual accomplishments in
astronomy, maths and calendrics, seemingly tied to the complexities
of Maya religion, that were remarkable for a society technically in
the Stone Age. From reliefs on temple walls, from magnificent
hieroglyphic stairways and from stone stelae planted by Maya rulers
in the plazas of their cities has come written history: the
Chronicles of the Maya Kings. David Drew looks at why they
constructed their cities in the hostile setting of the jungle, the
exact age of their ruins, the strange human images depicted in
elaborate costume at so many Maya sites, and he asks why at the
time of the Spanish conquest, all knowledge of the Mayas had been
lost.
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