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For a thousand years the dense rain forests of Central America concealed the ruins of one of the world''s great civilizations, that of the ancient Maya
Early explorers found themselves in cities dominated by steep temple pyramids and fallen idols covered in unfathomable hieroglyphs. Since the mid-nineteenth century, scholars have tried to understand the mysterious people who produced one of the greatest flowerings of art and culture in the New World. Behind the ruined Maya cities and their abandoned art-works -- the superb sculptures of Copan, the fine vase painting of Naranjo, the mighty pyramids of Tikal and Calakmul -- lie the turbulent stories of their ruling dynasties. The recent tremendous progress in reading Maya hieroglyphs is now bringing this story into focus.Here is the first book to bring together and examine the greatest Maya dynasties in a single volume. Two of the world''s leading experts in Maya hieroglyphic decipherment reveal the latest thinking on the nature of Maya divine kingship, statehood, and political authority, and describe the most recent readings and archaeological finds, including their own discoveries.
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