The Maya

The Maya has long been established as the best, most readableintroduction to the New World’s greatest ancient civilization. Inthese pages Michael D. Coe distills a lifetime’s scholarship forthe general reader and student.

The eighth edition incorporates the latest archaeological andepigraphic research. Among the finest new discoveries are thespectacular polychrome murals of Calakmul, which provide archaeologicalevidence for the importance of marketplaces in the ClassicMaya cities as well as giving a unique glimpse into Maya daily life.Other recent finds relate to the initial peopling of the Maya areaby Early Hunters and Archaic peoples.

It is clear that the birth of Maya civilization lies not in the Classicbut in the Preclassic period, above all in the Mirador Basin of northernGuatemala, where the builders of gigantic ancient cities erected theworld’s largest pyramid as early as 200 BC. In addition, the persistentinfluence of the precocious Olmec civilization of southeast Mexicoon the development of complex society in the Maya area has becomemore apparent. These and other discoveries continue to suggest thatwe must rethink what we mean by the term “Classic.”

This edition concludes with new historical evidence for the crucialrole played by collaborationist native leaders, both Maya and non-Maya, in the Spanish conquest of the region.