An anthropologist and archaeologist working for much of his life at the British Museum, Thomas Athol Joyce (1878 1942) succeeded in making American archaeology more accessible to non-specialists. Through careful analysis and presentation of the available evidence from South and Central America, he secured his reputation as an authority in this field, especially with regard to Mayan civilisation. Drawing on his wide reading of the published literature, he produced three pioneering and highly illustrated textbooks. The present work appeared in 1914 and focuses on Mexican and Mayan culture. The topics discussed include social structure and daily life, warfare, trade and architecture, as well as religious observance and mythology. Particular attention is paid to the calendar, with appendices providing the names of days and months along with a provisional dating scheme. Joyce's South American Archaeology (1912) and Central American and West Indian Archaeology (1916) are also reissued in this series.

An anthropologist and archaeologist working for much of his life at the British Museum, Thomas Athol Joyce (1878 1942) succeeded in making American archaeology more accessible to non-specialists. Through careful analysis and presentation of the available evidence from South and Central America, he secured his reputation as an authority in this field, especially with regard to Mayan civilisation. Drawing on his wide reading of the published literature, he produced three pioneering and highly illustrated textbooks. The present work appeared in 1916 and focuses on Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the West Indies. The laws, religion, customs and daily life of the various indigenous peoples are discussed and compared, with thorough illustration and examination of a range of artefacts. Joyce intended his summary of the evidence to serve as 'a signpost for future investigators'. His South American Archaeology (1912) and Mexican Archaeology (1914) are also reissued in this series.

An anthropologist and archaeologist working for much of his life in the British Museum, Thomas Athol Joyce (1878-1942) succeeded in making American archaeology more accessible to non-specialists. Through careful analysis and presentation of the available evidence from South and Central America, he secured his reputation as an authority in this field, especially with regard to Mayan civilisation. Drawing on his wide reading of the published literature, he produced three pioneering and highly illustrated textbooks. The present work appeared in 1912 and confined itself to South America, beginning its coverage with Colombia in the north. Given the better preservation of the material culture, there is a particular focus on Peru and the Incas. The topics discussed range from burials, mummies and shrunken heads to nose ornaments, musical instruments, tattoos and weaving. Joyce's Mexican Archaeology (1914) and Central American and West Indian Archaeology (1916) are also reissued in this series.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VIII?PERU: THE SEQUENCE OF CULTURES HAVING sketched theancienthistoryof Peruasfar as we know it, and given a few details regarding the beliefs and general culture of the people, it is now time to deal with the question how far the archaeology of the country can explain, or be explained by, the foregoing chapters. Whatever view may be taken of the value of the writings of Montesinos it is evident that the short list of Inca, concerning which most of the chroniclers are in agreement, does not take us back to the earliest form of culture of which remains are found in the country. Apart from the fact that we find in Inca records stories of the discovery of mighty ruins, the evolution of the several varieties of the llama species, twoof which have never been found in a wild state, requires a longer period than that covered by the list; while the evolution of the cultivated varieties of maize and potato can only be explained by long centuries of agricultural activity. We have seen that a certain locality called Tiahuanaco, situated at the extreme south of lake Titicaca, is closely associated with the creation- myths current among the Inca and Colla. Here it was that Uiracocha, coming from the south, made mankind and the heavenly bodies, and here are found the ruins which most excited the astonishment of the later Inca conquerors. These ruins, of which a careful survey was made by StQbel and Uhle, and which have been further unveiled by Courty of the Crequi-Montfort expedition, stand in a desolate plain thirteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. The most noticeable feature is alarge mound, resembling a ruined step-pyramid, concerning the origin of which there has been much dispute. Some have held that it is natural, but the recent discovery of a series of walls, appare...

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone