The mystique of the pre-Columbian Maya has prompted much speculation about the nature of this sophisticated people. With the breaking of their elaborate hieroglyphic code, Schele and Freidel, Mayan scholars of note, provide a new look at the Maya. Structured on sound scholarly principles, their presentation abounds in notes, references, indexes, and chronologies with profuse line-drawings of temple and other inscriptions. They devote a chapter to each of the major Mayan city-states. What makes this volume more accessible and of greater impact than the average scholarly study are the frequent vignettes of great events, kingly acts, etc., told dramatically, in a fictive but plausible style that allows the ancient Maya at last to speak for themselves. Recommended for informed laypersons, as well as specialist and young adult readers.

About the Author
David Freidel has been a Maya archaeologist for twenty years. He teaches at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Linda Schele was a well-known authority on Maya writing and art, and the co-author of many books on the Maya including The Blood of Kings and The Code of Kings. She died in 1998.


Book Information
ISBN 9780688112042
Author David Freidel
Format Paperback
Page Count 552
Imprint William Morrow Paperbacks
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Weight(grams) 771g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 35mm