{"product_id":"the-lost-chronicles-of-the-maya-kings","title":"The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings","description":"\u003cp\u003eSince the end of the eighteenth century  explorers and archaeologists have made spectacular discoveries in the tropical forests of Central America  the home of the ancient Maya. Across much of present-day Mexico  Guatemala  Belize and Honduras  dozens of their great cities have now been located  many still buried in remote parts of the jungle. Every year fresh reports emerge of the finding of previously unknown pyramids  temples and the tombs of kings. These discoveries offer renewed testimony to the special genius and sophisticated nature of Maya civilization  which reached the height of its glory at the time of the European Dark Ages.  Among all the ancient peoples of the Americas  the intellectual achievements of the Maya were the most astonishing  in maths  astronomy and calendrics  and above all in their system of hieroglyphic writing. For a very long time their script could not be fully understood. But recently  major advances in decipherment have begun to shed a whole new light on the Maya world and those who ruled it. From temple walls and stone stelae planted in the plazas of their cities has come written history: the Chronicles of the Maya Kings.  Drawing on a wealth of sources  from the accounts of early explorers and archaeologists to the most recent research  David Drew charts the course of Maya discovery and presents answers to many of the mysteries their civilization has posed: the nature of Maya religion  the extent of warfare and human sacrifice in their society  how they were able to support vast populations in the fragile forest environment and why  by the time of the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century  most of their great cities were already lost and forgotten in the jungle. He examines Maya political systems  their achievements in art and architecture and stresses that they are not a lost or dead people. Millions of Maya still live in the region today and  as David Drew shows in this fascinating book  their society illuminates that of their ancestors.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44966785417269,"sku":"ByrdShop_0520226127","price":58.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780520226128.jpg?v=1770580186","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-lost-chronicles-of-the-maya-kings","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}