“In addition to serving as an introduction to Maya art, the book communicates enthusiasm for the art’s aesthetic power and grace.” ― Choice Rewritten and updated to include the discoveries and new theories from the past decade and a half, this classic guide to the art of the ancient Maya is now illustrated in color throughout. World expert Mary Miller and her co-author Megan O’Neil take the reader through the visual world of the Maya, explaining how and why they created the paintings, sculpture, and monuments that intrigue and compel people the world over. With an array of new material, including the newly found La Corona panels, Waka’ figurines, and the Dz’ibanche’ staircase; studies of the monuments at Palenque, Zotz, and elsewhere; and paintings discovered in recent years; this new edition will be essential reading for students and scholars―and for travelers to the cities of this mysterious civilization. 254 illustrations, 191 in color
An excellent and fairly thorough introduction to this topic. The presentation and elucidation are very clear and my only problem is that in my edition some of the illustrations were rather muddy.
I read the second edition of this book, with Mary Ellen Miller and Megan E. O'Neil as co-authors, published in 2014. I couldn't find it on Goodreads, so I'm putting my comments here. Mayan research has advanced so much in recent years that if you want to learn about it, you should get the more recent version.
I've long been fascinated by the mysterious Mayans and this book includes lots of cultural and historical information along with many great pictures. The relatively small size would make it good for taking along on a vacation that included a trip to Mayan ruins.
The Mayans built incredible palaces and monuments, then abandoned them, leaving behind ceramics, paintings, jewelry and more. The collapse of these cities is likely related to depletion of resources with an environment unable to support the population. There also were lots of wars among competing groups.
Many descendants of the ancient Mayans live in Central America today,