The Maya : Palaces and Pyramids of the Rainforest (Paperback)

This volume retraces the development and magnificent flowering of Mayan architecture over the period 300 BC - AD 1500. Lavishly illustrated in colour, it examines the construction form and function of such monuments as the pyramids at Tikal, the ball court at Chichen Itza and the hieroglyphic staircase at Copan. The author and editor Henri Stierlin has based his presentation of these most remarkable examples of Mayan architecture on the latest findings from excavations in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Cities have been rediscovered in the depths of the rain forest, along with soaring pyramids, mysterious tombs, palaces with frescoes and steles. Particularly intriguing is the fact that, although this very advanced civilisation evolved completely separately from that of the "Old World," the architectural parallels are astonishing. Only very recently has it been possible to decipher Mayan hieroglyphics to any great extent. This new research is used to full advantage by this volume as a key to unlock the mystery of Mayan architecture.