This is the seventh edition of Coe’s Maya, a readable and enjoyable richly illustrated introduction to the New World civilisation. Here, the Yale Professor of Anthropology presents an updated text that offers new evidence, gleaned over the past decade, since, as Coe points out ‘hardly a week goes by without the announcement of a new royal tomb’.
Among the new discoveries is the chance find of extraordinary murals dating to c.AD 100 at San Bartolo in Peten; while new epigraphic, archaeological and even oesteological research allows for a reassessment of the identity of the ‘founding fathers’ of such great and iconic sites as Tikal and Copan, and of their affiliation with the equally famous Teotihuacan in central Mexico.
Coe also offers fresh perspectives on such issues as the catastrophic demise of the Classic civilisation by the end of the 9th century. The book finishes with some practical information to the visitor wishing to visit the Maya area. In short, this is an inspiring book, and provides a colourful, helpful introduction to those interested in the New World.
This article is an extract from the full article published in World Archaeology Issue 13. Click here to subscribe
