Here is the story of America's oldest - and oddest - civilization, the Olmecs of the southern Mexican jungles. Virtually unknown to archaeologists until the early twentieth century, their true importance is only now being realized and shedding new light on how the Indian peoples of the Americas came to be here.

The Maya has long been established as the best, most readable introduction to the ancient Maya on the market today. This classic book has been updated by distilling the latest scholarship for the general reader and student.This tenth edition incorporates the most recent archaeological and epigraphic findings, which continue to proceed at a fast pace, along with full-colour illustrations. The new material includes evidence of the earliest human occupants of the Maya region ...

This accessible, state-of-the-art review of Mayan hieroglyphics and cosmology also serves as a tribute to one of the field's most noted pioneers.The core of this book focuses on the current study of Mayan hieroglyphics as inspired by the recently deceased Mayanist Linda Schele. As author or coauthor of more than 200 books or articles on the Maya, Schele served as the chief disseminator of knowledge to the general public about this ancient Mesoamerican culture, simi...

Coe and Houston update this classic account of the New World's greatest ancient civilization, incorporating the most recent research in a fast-changing field.New discoveries of spectacular stucco sculptures at El Zotz and Holmul reveal surprising aspects of Maya royalty; the 'Classic' Maya themselves can be understood as occupants of royal courts, full of Machiavellian intrigue yet operating in close communion with gods and cosmos. Just-discovered texts at Xultun show a strong conc...

In the recent past, a working knowledge of the Maya script has been confined to epigraphers, art historians and other specialists. Its very unfamiliarity to the general public, and the daunting aspect of its approximately 800 signs, have made the system appear more complex and arcane than it really is. Reading the Maya Glyphs is a compact, portable guide to enable students, tourists and armchair travellers to read and understand commonly encountered Classic Maya texts.Topics covere...

This is the definitive, illustrated guide to Chocolate. Beginning 3,000 years ago in the Mexican jungles, it goes on to investigate archaeology, history, botany and socio-economics, and follows the story from the Aztecs up to todays mass-produced chocolate and its luxury versions. A treat, not just for chocoholics but for anyone who enjoys lively, thorough historical research. Sophie D. Coe, anthropologist and food historian, was also the author of 'Americas First Cuisines'.

This book, long recognized as the most readable and authoritative introduction to the region's pre-columbian civilizations, has now been completely revised for its seventh edition. Spectacular new discoveries have thrown more light on the Olmec culture, Mexicos earliest civilization. At the great city of Teotihuacan, recent investigations in the earliest monumental pyramid indicate the antiquity of certain sacrificial practices and the symbolism of the pyramid. The Huastec region of the no...

The ancient city of Angkor in Cambodia has fascinated scholars and visitors alike since its rediscovery in the mid-19th century. A great deal was already known about the history of Angkor and the brilliant Khmer civilization that built it thanks to pioneering work by archaeologists and scholars, but our knowledge has now been completely revolutionized by cutting-edge technology. Airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) has revealed entire cities that were previously unknown and a complex urban land...

The inside story of one of the major intellectual breakthroughs of our time - the last great decipherment of an ancient script. It will fascinate anyone interested in decipherment and puzzles as well as scholars of Maya civilization. The book has been revised and updated with the latest discoveries.

An extensive update to the authoritative introduction to Mexico's ancient civilizations.Mexico arrives in its eighth edition with a new look and the most recent discoveries. This is the story of the pre-Spanish people of Mexico, who, with their neighbors the Maya, formed some of the most complex societies north of the Andes. Revised and expanded, the book is updated with the latest developments and findings in the field and current terminology.The ...

It was about 13,000 years ago that the First Americans, people who came from Asia, worked their way past the melting glaciers of the last Ice Age and began spreading across North, Central, and South America - lands previously unscarred by humans and teeming with mammoths, giant bison, saber-toothed tigers, and beavers the size of a cow. But it's only recently that scientists have pieced together the elusive, compelling saga of that epic migration. And the more we learn about them, the more...

Of all the great ancient civilizations, Egypt has provided the world the most alluring portraits of women. Here, from author Leonard Cottrell, are the fascinating stories of those women - from the legendary beauty, Nefertiti, and Nefertari, the favorite wife of the great Ramesses II; to Tiye, wife of the uxorious, luxury-loving Amenophis III, and the formidable Hatsepshut, the only queen of Egypt to rule as a divine pharaoh in her own right.