The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings First Edition

by David Drew (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0520226128

ISBN-10: 0520226127

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Since the end of the eighteenth century, explorers and archaeologists have made spectacular discoveries in the tropical forests of Central America, the home of the ancient Maya. Across much of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, dozens of their great cities have now been located, many still buried in remote parts of the jungle. Every year fresh reports emerge of the finding of previously unknown pyramids, temples and the tombs of kings. These discoveries offer renewed testimony to the special genius and sophisticated nature of Maya civilization, which reached the height of its glory at the time of the European Dark Ages.

Among all the ancient peoples of the Americas, the intellectual achievements of the Maya were the most astonishing – in maths, astronomy and calendrics, and above all in their system of hieroglyphic writing. For a very long time their script could not be fully understood. But recently, major advances in decipherment have begun to shed a whole new light on the Maya world and those who ruled it. From temple walls and stone stelae planted in the plazas of their cities has come written history: the Chronicles of the Maya Kings.

Drawing on a wealth of sources – from the accounts of early explorers and archaeologists to the most recent research – David Drew charts the course of Maya discovery and presents answers to many of the mysteries their civilization has posed: the nature of Maya religion, the extent of warfare and human sacrifice in their society, how they were able to support vast populations in the fragile forest environment and why, by the time of the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century, most of their great cities were already lost and forgotten in the jungle. He examines Maya political systems, their achievements in art and architecture and stresses that they are not a lost or dead people. Millions of Maya still live in the region today and, as David Drew shows in this fascinating book, their society illuminates that of their ancestors.

Amazon.com Review

Much has been learned in recent years, through archaeological excavations and the decipherment of hieroglyphs, about the world of the ancient Maya peoples of Mesoamerica. But an important question continues to engage scholars: why did their powerful empire, extending from southern Mexico to Nicaragua, collapse so swiftly and completely, hundreds of years before the European arrival brought other New World empires to ruin? Popular-archaeology writer David Drew examines the existing evidence and the sometimes contentious scholarly literature in The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings, a well-crafted portrait of the Mayan world, in which religious orthodoxy, constant warfare, and political struggle held sway as leaders such as Smoking Frog, Shield Skull, and Flint Sky battled for supremacy.

Drew shows that there were really two Mayan empires: an "international one" verging on the Toltec and Mexica lands to the north, and an isolationist, conservative one to the south. Both constructed impressive, crowded cities marked by monumental architecture and elaborate royal tombs. Both fell victim to overpopulation and environmental failure, as drought and the depletion of the soil combined to produce famine. With them came the abandonment of the great cities. "It must be a gauge of the catastrophe and the severity of damage to the environment that in the years to come no attempt was made to revive a single one of them," Drew writes. The Mayan civilization emerged anew after the collapse, if at a much less ambitious scale--only to fall again as European-introduced diseases killed half a million Mayas between 1520 and 1547.

Drew's account of the Mayan empire's rise and fall is among the best general-interest books on this enigmatic era of New World history; scholars may prefer Martin and Grube's Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens. --Gregory McNamee

Review

"Drew documents the warring nature of city-state dynasts, religious bloodletting rituals, and human sacrifices." -- Science News

"It is a valuable resource for archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and art historians." -- Martha Macri, Times Higher Education Supplement

"The book is very readable, requires little previous knowledge, and has numerous line drawings and color and black-and-white photographs." -- M. J. O'Brien, Choice

"This fascinating book shines well-focused light on what is known about the Mayas and their stunning achievements." -- Dallas Morning News

"This fascinating book shines well-focused light on what is known about the Mayas and their stunning achievements." -- Si Dunn, Dallas Morning News

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First edition (March 20, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 461 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520226127
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520226128
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.01 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 2 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,223,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #573 in Mayan History (Books)
- #660 in Latin American History (Books)
- #1,042 in Archaeology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
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Very Good Summary of Maya Scholarship

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2001

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This very good book is NOT just a history of what we know about the Maya. It summarizes the saga of how these ancient cities were discovered and how our knowledge of them was developed - especially during the last century.
It also offers a very insightful review of what scholars have learned of the various Mayan cities, their rise and fall, and their relations with one another.
The author also takes us through a brief review of the conquest and all that was lost and how the Maya have survived as a people under extremely difficult circumstances.
And there are some very helpful pcitures and illustrations.
I am glad I own it, have read it, and am happy to recommend it to others as a one volume look at the broad scope of out understanding of this amazing culture.

5 people found this helpful

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Mrs. K. Nilsen

So good I actually packed this big book in my suitcase

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2006

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It's the size and weight of a textbook. But I couldn't stop reading it, & finally gave up & packed it in my suitcase. I read the first 3 chapters, & then had to do a time-jump to a later period to catch up with where we would be visiting in Mexico. And once I loaned it to my son, at Chichen Itza, I didn't see it again, because he was so caught up reading it. It's that informative and, yes, readable. On the book flap, it says the author "brings to life this extraordinary civilization" - well he really does! I also appreciated the ending.

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G. Kennedy

2 Books in 1 ?

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2007

If you want a history of every Mayan archaeologist + the history of rivalry between major Mayan cities ... this is a good summary of the most recent books written on the subject as far as I can tell.
Recent translations of the Mayan stellae give new insights into the Mayan obsession with royal blood and their cities being constantly at war for power (obviously) and for the capture of rival royals from nearby cities for sacrifice due to the "power" of their royal blood.
This is a big departure from the widely held "tree hugger" image of the Mayans.
(At least the Mayans were selective ... the Aztecs, Toltecs etc didn't seem to care which school you went to !) ... so I guess the Mayans can still be considered more "sophisticated" than their neighbours ...
This book suffers from information overload and can be very heavy going. To be true to the book title it should have minimised the infinite detail on archaeologists and stuck to the Mayans ... I'd give this 1/2 of the book a 4.5

One person found this helpful

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Drake Tungsten

A new view of the Maya.

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2001

My compliments to the author. He did a good job with this book. Not since Michael Coe's "Breaking the Maya Code" have I found a book on the Maya so exciting to read and so easy to get through. David Drew doesn't bog you down in academic minutae.
I found two things in this book that were particularly fascinating. One, that the Maya were not a single pre-Columbian empire, as is so often portrayed, but rather a set of city-states involved in constantly shifting alliances with other political entities. It made the Maya seem that much more accessible and real as people.
The second item I found fascinating was the fact that the Maya city of Tayasal survived into the period of the Spanish Conquest, while the bulk of the Maya world, and its once proud city-state, had collapsed several hundred years earlier. I am curious to read more about this particular city in a book by Grant Jones.
I highly recommend this book to all those interested in the Maya. It is a good read and you don't need to be an expert on the Maya to enjoy it.

9 people found this helpful

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K. Maxwell

Many books in One

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2001

The title for this book is somewhat deceptive. You may think you are getting a translation of Maya Heiroglypic history - but you are not - in fact, you are getting more than that.
The author has produced an in-depth overview of Maya history from Prehistoric times until it's demise. It goes into detail on such cities as Tikal, Copan, Palanque & Quirigua for example. What you will get is a conglomeration of all the research in these areas in relation to history, art, architecture, politics and religion where information has been found.
This is a very informative book and reccomended for an overview of the entire Maya civilsation. It brings into context what caused the changes in Maya civilisation (where we know it) and the limitations on the knowledge we currently have.
A word of warning however - despite being 'reader friendly' this book can be slow to get through if you don't have a long background in Maya history because of it's sheer depth and array of information.

2 people found this helpful

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Stephen D. Houston

An appropriate title?

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 1999

I have perused this book, and been struck by two things: its more-or-less competent review of the data; and its approximate appropriation of a title for a work in press by Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, who are frequently mentioned (and thanked) by the author of Lost Chronicles. For some years now specialists have eagerly awaited the Martin and Grube work. The use of a roughly similar title for the Drews book would seem to reflect, as far as I can tell, sharp practice and uncertain truth-in-advertising -- in fairness perhaps entirely beyond the control of Drews. I hope I am wrong, and that Drews' title existed long before this long-awaited, splendid effort by Martin and Grube. Until that book appears, readers will find a capable (but derivative) treatment of Maya history in The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings.

24 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Bruno Girin

Detailed yet easy to read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2004

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I went to Meso-America last November and visited Tikal, Chichen-Itza and Tulum. I came back wanting to know more about the Maya and bought this book. David Drew is very clear and presents a complex subject very well. From the best known archaelogical sites to the ones off the beaten track, he explains how they fit and their importance in Maya history. Also very interesting are the chapters on "breaking the code" of Maya hieroglyphs, the calendrics and numbers, as well as the influence of the Spanish conquistadores. After reading this book, I just want to go back to the region, see sites I didn't see before, as well as re-visiting places I went to with a new insight.

11 people found this helpful

Steve

Excellent read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2012

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This book provides an excellent overview of the Maya from pre-classic through to the post / terminal classic. It also provides detailed descriptions of the key Maya sites and the findings of the archaelogists who studied them.

2 people found this helpful

Sandra Goodare

A reliable source

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2020

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Book arrived quickly, packaged well, good price.

viv

interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2016

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helps to fill in gaps in the background of civilization

One person found this helpful

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The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings First Edition