*Includes pictures.
*Includes historic accounts about the myth of El Dorado.
*Includes a bibliography and footnotes for further reading.

Alongside the famous Lost City of Atlantis, perhaps no mythological city has captured the imaginations of people or been the source for exploration quite like El Dorado, the fabled city of gold that the Spanish believed was located somewhere in South America. The origins of the Spaniards' belief in the existence of the mythical city was based on their rumors surrounding the tribal chief of the Muisca in present-day Colombia; the Spanish heard that his initiation included covering himself with gold dust and diving into Lake Guatavita. Of course, if the chief could cover himself in gold, he must have access to a lot of it, and around this figure, the myth of El Dorado sprang up as the location of it.

Naturally, the belief in the existence of El Dorado propelled it from being merely a city to an entire empire itself, and this spurred several journeys in the 16th century, including one by Francisco Pizarro's half-brother, Gonzalo, and another by Sir Walter Raleigh. Although none of these journeys actually discovered such a place, they resulted in plenty of lives lost and a lot of exploration of the heart of South America. Moreover, despite the fact none of the explorers actually found El Dorado, the rumors and journeys only cemented the belief that such a place existed, and El Dorado was actually located on maps made by several European nations for centuries. As folklorist Jim Griffith once put it, "El Dorado shifted geographical locations until finally it simply meant a source of untold riches somewhere in the Americas."In fact, it would not be until about the early 19th century that explorer Alexander von Humboldt disproved El Dorado's existence, at least in the spot it was assumed to be located for over 200 years.

Although no El Dorado was ever found, the myth still fascinates people today, and it remains a pop culture fixture around the globe. El Dorado is also still used as a metaphor not only for places where people seek to get rich quick but even as a mentality and mindset, much like the notion of the American Dream. El Dorado: The Search for the Fabled City of Gold chronicles the origins behind the myth and the history of the actual journeys that sought to discover the city. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about El Dorado like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures.
*Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading.

When the Spanish came into contact with different tribes in the Southwest, they were so intrigued by the structure of the communities that they gave the natives the name Pueblo, a term they used to measure certain sizes for their own settlements.. Thus, while most Americans have heard of the Pueblo and Navajo, many remain unfamiliar with distinctions within the tribes.

The Spaniards' interest was understandable, because the Pueblo fascinated those who came across their settlements, especially those located in desert regions and the sides of cliffs that involved the use of adobe mud, stone, carving homes out of cliffs. One such settlement, Oraibi, was created around 1100 A.D. and remains one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in North America, but the most famous of the cliff dwellings can be found at Mesa Verde, which was turned into a national park in the early 20th century, about 1500 years after the Ancient Pueblo established the settlement.

Today's Puebloan tribes are descended from tribes known as the "Ancestral Puebloan People," one of which was the Anasazi, but anthropologists believe that the Anasazi were a common ancestor of every Pueblo group, so the Ancient Pueblo are often referred to simply as the Anasazi. The name Anasazi came from their enemies; it is a Navajo word that means "enemy ancestor." While that name understandably continues to offend the descendants of the Anasazi, it also underscores that there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the history of the Anasazi. In fact, it is still unclear what the Anasazi called themselves, and though they resided near the "Four Corners" area of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico for more than 700 years, they mysteriously abandoned their settlements shortly after they truly began to flourish around 1050-1150 A.D.

Despite the mystery surrounding the Anasazi, it's widely agreed that they occupied Mesa Verde and its unique structures for a period of nearly 700 years, beginning as early as the 7th century. Thanks to its occupants taking advantage of the surrounding geologic formations, Mesa Verde is an amazing collection of cliff dwellings, as well as houses that utilize caves and rock overhangs, and structures consisting of adobe and sandstone. Unfortunately, the natural conditions that make Mesa Verde so special also likely played a role in its abandonment, with overpopulation and drought forcing inhabitants out near the end of the 13th century.

Mesa Verde: The History of the Ancient Pueblo Settlement covers the establishment of Mesa Verde from its origins until its establishment as a national park. Along with pictures, footnotes, and a bibliography, you will learn about Mesa Verde like never before.

*Includes pictures of Chichen Itza's ruins and art.
*Explains the history of the site and the theories about its purpose and abandonment.
*Describes the layout of Chichen Itza, its important structures, and the theories about the buildings' uses.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century, like the Greeks and the Romans, but of all the world's civilizations, none have intrigued people more than the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance all continue to captivate people. At the heart of the fascination is the most visited and the most spectacular of Late Classic Maya cities: Chichen Itza.
Chichen Itza was inhabited for hundreds of years and was a very influential center in the later years of Maya civilization. At its height, Chichen Itza may have had over 30,000 inhabitants, and with a spectacular pyramid, enormous ball court, observatory and several temples, the builders of this city exceeded even those at Uxmal in developing the use of columns and exterior relief decoration. Of particular interest at Chichen Itza is the sacred cenote, a sinkhole was a focus for Maya rituals around water. Because adequate supplies of water, which rarely collected on the surface of the limestone based Yucatan, were essential for adequate agricultural production, the Maya here considered it of primary importance. Underwater archaeology carried out in the cenote at Chichen Itza revealed that offerings to the Maya rain deity Chaac (which may have included people) were tossed into the sinkhole.
Although Chichen Itza was around for hundreds of years, it had a relatively short period of dominance in the region, lasting from about 800-950 A.D. Today, tourists are taken by guides to a building called the Nunnery for no good reason other than the small rooms reminded the Spaniards of a nunnery back home. Similarly the great pyramid at Chichen Itza is designated El Castillo ("The Castle"), which it almost certainly was not, while the observatory is called El Caracol ("The Snail") for its spiral staircase. Of course, the actual names for these places were lost as the great Maya cities began to lose their populations, one by one.
Chichen Itza was partially abandoned in 948, and the culture of the Maya survived in a disorganized way until it was revived at Mayapan around 1200. Why Maya cities were abandoned and left to be overgrown by the jungle is a puzzle that intrigues people around the world today, especially those who have a penchant for speculating on lost civilizations.
Chichen Itza: The History and Mystery of the Maya's Most Famous City comprehensively covers the history of the city, as well as the speculation surrounding the purpose of Chichen Itza and the debate over the buildings. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about the Maya's most famous city like you never have before, in no time at all.

*Includes pictures.
*Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading.

Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century. The Greeks and Romans continue to fascinate the West today. But of all the world's civilizations, none have intrigued people more than the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance all continue to captivate people. In 2012 especially, there was a renewed focus on the Mayans, whose advanced calendar has led many to speculate the world would end on the same date the Mayan calendar ends, but if anything, the focus on the "doomsday" scenario overshadowed the Mayans' true contribution to astronomy, language, sports, and art.

The Maya maintained power in the Yucatan for over a thousand years, and at the height of its "Classical era" (3rd-9th centuries A.D.), the city of Tikal was one of the power centers of the empire. Archaeologists believe Tikal had been built as early as the 5th or 4th century BC, and eventually it became a political, economic and military capital that was an important part of a far-flung network across Mesoamerica, despite the fact it was seemingly conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. It seems the foreign rulers came to assimilate Mayan culture, thus ensuring Tikal would continue to be a power base, and as a result, the city would not be abandoned until about the 10th century AD.

As one of the Ancient Maya's most important sites, construction at Tikal was impressive, and even though it was apparently conquered, the city's records were unusually well preserved. This includes a list of the city's dynastic rulers, as well as the tombs and monuments dedicated to them. Thanks to this preservation, Tikal offers researchers their best look at the Ancient Maya and has gone a long way toward helping scholars understand Mayan history.

Tikal: The History of the Ancient Maya's Famous Capital covers the history of the city, as well as the speculation and debate surrounding it. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Tikal like you never have before, in no time at all.

This edited volume brings together ten compelling ethnographic case studies from a range of global settings to explore how people build metalinguistic communities defined not by use of a language, but primarily by language ideologies and symbolic practices about the language. The authors examine themes of agency, belonging, negotiating hegemony, and combating cultural erasure and genocide in cultivating meaningful metalinguistic communities. Case studies include Spanish and Hebrew in the USA, Kurdish in Japan, Pataxo Hahahae in Brazil, and Gallo in France. The afterword, by Wesley L. Leonard, provides theoretical and on-the-ground context as well as a forward-looking focus on metalinguistic futurities. This book will be of interest to interdisciplinary students and scholars in applied linguistics, linguistic anthropology and migration studies.

This edited volume brings together ten compelling ethnographic case studies from a range of global settings to explore how people build metalinguistic communities defined not by use of a language, but primarily by language ideologies and symbolic practices about the language. The authors examine themes of agency, belonging, negotiating hegemony, and combating cultural erasure and genocide in cultivating meaningful metalinguistic communities. Case studies include Spanish and Hebrew in the USA, Kurdish in Japan, Pataxo Hahahae in Brazil, and Gallo in France. The afterword, by Wesley L. Leonard, provides theoretical and on-the-ground context as well as a forward-looking focus on metalinguistic futurities. This book will be of interest to interdisciplinary students and scholars in applied linguistics, linguistic anthropology and migration studies.

This volume--the latest in the acclaimed "Cornish Studies" series--addresses issues of sustainability and the china clay region of mid-Cornwall, with articles on landscape, literature, archaeology, political culture, and sustainable communities. Also included are wider comparative discussions on topics such as access to higher education in Cornwall, contemporary Cornish music, St. Piran and the cult of the saints, and issues of authenticity at Cornish heritage sites.