Product Description

The story of the city's rediscovery, deep in the forest-clad mountains of southeastern Mexico, told with panache by two leading Maya scholars.

Sunday, June 15, 1952. Having spent four years clearing a secret passage inside Palenque's Temple of the Inscriptions, Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz gazed into a vaulted chamber. There, beneath a gigantic carved stone block, he would make a spectacular discovery: the intact burial of King Pakal, complete with jade jewelry and an exquisite burial mask.

Pakal was one of the greatest ancient rulers and the most prominent among a long line of monarchs who held sway at Palenque from AD 300 to 800. This "queen of Maya cities," as Palenque has been called, fell into ruin and was abandoned along with other great urban centers when Maya civilization suffered a mysterious collapse more than 1000 years ago.Through the eyes of David and George Stuart, we travel with pioneer artists and archaeologists from the eighteenth century on as they rediscovered Palenque and attempted, in the oppressive tropical heat, to document the city's graceful and ornate palaces, temples, bas-reliefs, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. These inscriptions lay largely unread until, in the late twentieth century, major breakthroughs in decipherment revealed Palenque's history. David Stuart, one of the leading decipherers, portrays a lost world of palace intrigue, of brilliant architects, of gods and revered ancestors.

Today Palenque, proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a place of new reverence and relevance for millions of modern Maya, New Age spiritualists, and all those fascinated by the history of the Maya. 150 illustrations, 40 in color.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120745 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780500051566
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
David Stuart is Professor of Mesoamerican Art and Writing at the University of Texas, Austin. George Stuart is founding president of the Center for Maya Research in North Carolina and the former Staff Archaeologist of the National Geographic Society.

Customer Reviews

One for your Mayan library.
My wonderful wife recently purchased this book for me as a gift. I have an interest in Mayanism and have aquired a modest library on the subject. The Stuarts have brought a thorough knowledge of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque in a manner that is informative yet enjoyable to read. The special treatment of Palenque's most celebrated king, K'inich Janab Pakal,and his ambitious building projects are worth the purchase of the book alone. The authors are gracious in acknowledging those who have contibuted knowledge to the field of Mayanism; academic as well as the general public.

Palenque Revisited
Palenque is an excellent non-fiction book which reads like a novel. Fast paced and well written, Palenque recounts the wonders of this classic Maya site. Accurate and well rearched the book has much to offer to all scholars that explore the wonders of this city and its artifacts.

A highly readable book of the history of the Maya city of Palenque
For anyone having an interest in Maya culture, or traveling to the ancient city of Palenque, this book is perhaps the most readable and well written books on the subject. It is scholarly without being pedantic -- very straightforward in presenting both the history of the ancient culture and of the explorers and archaeologists who later "rediscovered" the city. You can tell that this book is a labor of love from the father and son author team who reveal the brilliance of this ancient culture that is still not well understood. Beautifully drawn figures and photos are included throughout, but their numbering system and order is more than a bit confusing. As an "arm-chair archaeologist", I enjoyed this book very much and will enjoy having it at hand for future reference. I came away feeling I had learned much, and enjoyed even more. Highly recommended.