The Maya

Description

An illuminating look at the myriad communities who have engaged with the ancient Maya over the centuries. This book reveals how the ancient Maya—and their buildings, ideas, objects, and identities—have been perceived, portrayed, and exploited over five hundred years in the Americas, Europe, and beyond. Engaging in interdisciplinary analysis, the book summarizes ancient Maya art and history from the preclassical period to the Spanish invasion, as well as the history of outside engagement with the ancient Maya, from Spanish invaders in the sixteenth century to later explorers and archaeologists, taking in scientific literature, visual arts, architecture, world’s fairs, and Indigenous activism. It also looks at the decipherment of Maya inscriptions, Maya museum exhibitions and artists’ responses, and contemporary Maya people’s engagements with their ancestral past. Featuring the latest research, this book will interest scholars as well as general readers who wish to know more about this ancient, fascinating culture. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Chronology Notes on Spelling, Pronunciation and Dates Preface: A Layered Past 1. Art and Architecture 2. Places, Politics and History 3. Contact and Conquest, Resistance and Resilience, in the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries 4. Exploration, Documentation and the Search for Origins in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 5. Rediscovering Maya Histories in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 6. Collecting and Exhibiting the Ancient Maya in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 7. Ancient Maya in Popular Culture, Architecture and Visual Arts 8. Contemporary Maya Arts, Education and Activism References Further Reading Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index