Chronicle of the Maya kings and queens : deciphering the dynasties of the ancient Maya / Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Martin, Simon.

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Grube, Nikolai.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mayas.

Central America--History--To 1821.

Central America.

History.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

240 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Thames & Hudson, 2000.

Summary:

For a thousand years the dense rain forests of Central America concealed the ruins of one of the world's great civilizations, that of the ancient Maya. Behind these ruined cities and their abandoned artworks -- the superb sculptures of Copan, the vase painting of Naranjo, the mighty pyramids of Tikal and Calakmul -- lie the turbulent stories of their ruling dynasties. The recent tremendous progress in reading Maya hieroglyphs is now bringing this story into focus.

Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens is the first book to draw together and examine the greatest Maya dynasties in a single volume. Describing many of their own discoveries, two of the world's leading experts in Maya hieroglyphic decipherment take the reader into a once hidden history. Conflict was everpresent in a landscape divided among numerous kingdoms. The rule of "overkings" who exerted authority over others helps us to understand the wealth and power of individuals like Yich'aak K'ak' of Calakmul and his nemesis Jasaw Chan K'awiil of Tikal. It was rare for women to achieve power but when, like Lady Six Sky of Naranjo, they did, they could be rapacious conquerors. At Palenque, famed for the spectacular tomb of Janaab' Pakal, we see an unusually intense dialogue with local deities arise from repeated defeat and dynastic breakdown.

Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens combines ground-breaking research with a highly readable history, offering the reader insight into one of the most exciting and fast-developing areas of world archaeology.

Contents:

Preface: Discovering the Maya past

Introduction

Tikal

Dos Pilas

Naranjo

Caracol

Calakmul

Yaxchilan

Piedras Negras

Palenque

Tonina

Copan

Quirigua

Epilogue: Fall of the divine kings.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-239) and index.

Local Notes:

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy has dustjacket retained.

ISBN:

0500051038

OCLC:

47358325