Description
Centuries before European explorers ‘came upon’ the Americas, the ancient Maya flourished in thriving cities like Palenque and Chichen Itza, where they tracked the celebrities and created elaborate cosmic calendars, built temples to their gods, performed human sacrifices – and drank chocolate. Incoming priests did their easiest to stamp out the indigenous ways, however the sculptures, cities, work of art or even books, highlighted in brilliant Mayan Blue, survived to inform the actual story of a vanished civilisation. This lavishly illustrated book goes beyond the apocalyptic 2012 predictions surrounding the tip of the Long Count calendar: it delves deep into the mysterious Maya world to uncover the actual story of an empire by studying its artefacts. As the players at the cosmic ball court knew, the survivor is the winner.