This fascinating collection explores the history, culture, gods, calendar, myths and tales of the Aztec people, the Incas, the Mayans and other Mesoamerican and Central American peoples, from migration legends to the origin myth of the Five Suns. Though the Olmecs (1250–200 BCE) were the first civilization in Mexico, the Aztecs (1325–1521) were Mesoamerica’s last dominant indigenous civilization and often the one that is thought about, without understanding the region's rich diversity. Like the other Mesoamerican cultures, Aztec gods and myths reflected a natural philosophy where ideas concerning life and death were linked symbolically to the earth, sky and sea in a grand cosmic scheme. Their religion was dominated by the tribal war god Huitzilopochtli, the rain/fertility god Tlaloc and the supreme deity Tezcatlipoca, the Lord of the Smoking Mirror. This collection brings together the stories and the history into a fine and collectable new volume in the Flame Tree Epic Tales series. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

The Nasca Lines are one of the world's great enigmas. Who etched the more than 1,000 animal, human, and geometric figures that cover 400 square miles of barren pampa in southern Peru? How did the makers create lifelike images of monkeys, birds, and spiders without an aerial vantage point from which to view these giant figures that stretch across thousands of square yards? Most puzzling of all, why did the ancient Nasca lay out these lines and images in the desert? These are the questions that pioneering archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni seeks to answer in this book. Writing for a wide public audience, Aveni begins by establishing the Nasca Lines as a true wonder of the ancient world. He describes how viewers across the centuries have tried to interpret the lines and debunks the wilder theories. Then he vividly recounts his own years of exploration at Nasca in collaboration with other investigators and the discoveries that have answered many of the riddles about who made the Nasca Lines, when, and for what purposes. This fascinating overview of what the leading expert and his colleagues currently understand about the lines is required reading for everyone intrigued by ancient mysteries.

"Tony Aveni has written a marvelous book about how the celestial rhythms influenced the cultures of the past. . . . It makes fascinating reading for any layperson."—Science Books and Films

"Clearly, if we can know more about these people, their religion, their culture, their hopes and dreams, according to Dr. Aveni, it will make our understanding of their astronomy more meaningful."—Planetarian

"A thoughtful analysis . . . highly recommended."—Library Journal

What was the meaning of Stonehenge? What was the Mayan Code? Why was the elaborate Incan city of Cuzco built? Groundbreaking archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni offers a host of startling new insights and conclusions in this acclaimed study of three of life's most mesmerizing mysteries.

A selection of nine papers from the 46th International Congress of Americanists. Papers are by: A F Aveni & H Hartung, C C Coggins & R D Drucker, S Milbrath, V R Bricker, F Tichy, S Robiou-Lamarche, P T Zuidema, M J Young, M Zeilik.

First published in 1982, this volume summarises the proceedings of a conference which took place at the University of Oxford in September 1981. Held under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union and the International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science, the meeting reviewed the progress in the archaeoastronomy of the New World. American archaeoastronomy is growing healthily. Researchers from different disciplines, showing an interest in Native American astronomy, have been collaborating since the early 1970s. Research paths opened by astronomers, archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and ethnologists are converging. In this volume a number of these paths are explored and reviewed. The contents include a survey of progress in understanding Maya astronomy; astronomical and calendric practices of the Hopi and the Incas; and case studies of Bonampak (Mexico), Chaco Canyon, and Casa Rinconada.

What is the connection between May Day and the Statue of Liberty? Between ancient solstice fires and Fourth of July fireworks? Between St. Valentine, the Groundhog, and the Virgin Mary? In The Book of the Year, Anthony Aveni offers fascinating answers to these questions and explains the many ways humans throughout time have tried to order and give meaning to time's passing. Aveni traces the origins of modern customs tied to seasonal holidays, exploring what we eat, the games we play, the rituals we perform, and the colorful cast of characters we invent to dramatize holidays. Along the way, Aveni illuminates everything from the Jack 'O Lantern and our faith in the predictive power of animals to the ways in which Labor Day reflects the great medieval "time wars," when the newly invented clock first pitted labor against management. Vividly written, filled with facts both curious and astonishing, this engrossing book allows us to hear that beat more clearly and to understand more fully the rhythms we all dance to throughout the year.

Western art has long nurtered an idyllic dream of "the tropics," absorbing larger cultural longings for exoticism, armchair travel, uninhibited sensuality and the rejection of industrialized civilization. Taking European constructions of tropicality as its point of departure, this volume juxtaposes 200 pre-modern works from Africa, Asia, Oceania and tropical America (from the collections of the Museum of Ethnology in Berlin) with works by 40 contemporary artists from Brazil, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia, tracing lines of affiliation and critical reflection. These lines are traced through the lenses of such themes as landscape, ancestry, color palette and tropical sounds and musics, themes that have gained particular freight in their association with tropicality. The publication of this volume marks the first time that this complex subject has been broached on such an ambitious scale, making it essential from multiple artistic and anthropological perspectives. Among the artists included in its scope are Franz Ackermann, Fernando Bryce, Edward Burtynsky, Mark Dion, Andreas Gursky, Candida Hofer, Jitish Kallat, Lucia Laguna, Milton Marques, Dennis Nona, Sherman Ong, Navin Rawanchaikul, Hans-Christian Schink, Thomas Struth, Fiona Tan and Guy Tillim.