Download or read book The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom written by Grant D. Jones and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 602 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On March 13, 1697, Spanish troops from Yucatán attacked and occupied Nojpeten, the capital of the Maya people known as Itzas, the inhabitants of the last unconquered native New World kingdom. This political and ritual center--located on a small island in a lake in the tropical forests of northern Guatemala--was densely covered with temples, royal palaces, and thatched houses, and its capture represented a decisive moment in the final chapter of the Spanish conquest of the Mayas. The capture of Nojpeten climaxed more than two years of preparation by the Spaniards, after efforts by the military forces and Franciscan missionaries to negotiate a peaceful surrender with the Itzas had been rejected by the Itza ruling council and its ruler Ajaw Kan Ek. The conquest, far from being final, initiated years of continued struggle between Yucatecan and Guatemalan Spaniards and native Maya groups for control over the surrounding forests. Despite protracted resistance from the native inhabitants, thousands of them were forced to move into mission towns, though in 1704 the Mayas staged an abortive and bloody rebellion that threatened to recapture Nojpeten from the Spaniards. The first complete account of the conquest of the Itzas to appear since 1701, this book details the layers of political intrigue and action that characterized every aspect of the conquest and its aftermath. The author critically reexamines the extensive documentation left by the Spaniards, presenting much new information on Maya political and social organization and Spanish military and diplomatic strategy. This is not only one of the most detailed studies of any Spanish conquest in the Americas but also one of the most comprehensive reconstructions of an independent Maya kingdom in the history of Maya studies. In presenting the story of the Itzas, the author also reveals much about neighboring lowland Maya groups with whom the Itzas interacted, often violently.
Download or read book Invading Guatemala written by Matthew Restall and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The invasions of Guatemala -- Pedro de Alvarado's letters to Hernando Cortes, 1524 -- Other Spanish accounts -- Nahua accounts -- Maya accounts
Download or read book Empires of the Maya written by Jill Rubalcaba and published by Infobase Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long before European boats reached the shores of the Americas, sophisticated civilizations had already developed throughout the continents. The empire of the Maya, located in modern Mexico and Central America, influenced civilization there for centuries. The ancient Maya had fully developed the idea of the calendar, detailed a writing system, pioneered new ideas in agriculture, and built towering palaces and temples that still stand today. Empire of the Ancient Maya gives a brief summary of the history of the empire, placing it within the context of its time period and geographical location, and then explores the evolution of Maya civilization from its origin through the classic period to the Spanish conquest. Delving into daily life, the book includes Maya achievements in mathematics, astronomy, technology, political organization, commerce, architecture, and the arts.
Download or read book Yucatan Before and After the Conquest written by Diego de Landa and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-05-23 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes geography and natural history of the peninsula, gives brief history of Mayan life, discusses Spanish conquest, and provides a long summary of Maya civilization. 4 maps, and over 120 illustrations.
Download or read book Lost Cities of the Mayan Empire written by Rhandel Lopez and published by DTTV PUBLICATIONS. This book was released on with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chichén Itzá Although many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century, like the Greeks and the Romans, none have intrigued people like the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance continue to captivate people today. Chichén Itzá, the most visited and most spectacular of the Late Classic Maya cities, is at the center of the fascination. In the later years of Maya civilization, Chichen Itzá had been inhabited for hundreds of years. In developing columns and exterior relief decoration, Chichén Itzá probably had over 30,000 residents at its peak, with a spectacular pyramid, enormous ball court, observatory, and several temples to boast. The sacred cenote at Chichén Itzá, a sinkhole used for Maya rituals surrounding water, is of particular interest. The Maya regarded it as a primary concern because adequate water was rarely found on the limestone-based Yucatan surface. The underwater archeology conducted in the cenote at Chichén Itzá found that offerings (including people, possibly) were thrown into the sinkhole in honor of the Maya rain deity Chaac. Despite its long history, Chichén Itzá had a relatively short period where it dominated the region, lasting from 800-950 CE. Nowadays, guides take tourists to one of the temples called the Nunnery for no good reason other than that the small rooms remind them of a nunnery back home.
Download or read book Lost Knowledge of the Mayan Empire written by HENRICK PEREZ and published by DTTV PUBLICATIONS. This book was released on with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The two main kinds of roads were "sacbe" and "highways." Sacbes were the smaller, more local roads which connected cities to each other. They didn't have any pavement on them, but they're still considered roads by many Mayan scholars. highways are bigger and connect cities with each other. The highways were built using a combination of natural materials and man-made structures such as bridges, ditches, rivers etc.. These structures helped make sure that people could cross waterways without getting their feet wet in the process. The sacbes were made with small stones placed side by side along their entire length; however there are some cases where larger stones used for paving stone can be found at regular intervals within this type of infrastructure – even though these do not seem necessary for walking across since you would fall through them anyway! Some of the roads were made by cutting down trees to make canals for them to cross over. The canals were built to drain water from the fields. The roads were built to carry people and goods, as well as help with trade, military campaigns and religious ceremonies. On top of all that, they also helped with agriculture by transporting food from one place to another. The Mayans also built bridges across canals for people to cross over, made artificial hills so that the canals could be channeled more easily, and even built aqueducts to bring water into their cities. The canals of the Mayans were an engineering marvel in their day, and they still stand today as a testament to the ingenuity of ancient civilizations. However, one thing is often overlooked: these canal systems were not just built out of dirt and stone; they also had many artificial hills that helped channel the water more efficiently. These hills weren't just for decoration—they were actually critical to how water flowed through the city. It is interesting but there are different theories about how their ancient engineering and technology was used. We can only speculate. Some scientists believe that the Mayans had mastered a complex understanding of astronomy and mathematics. They also believed that they had a detailed knowledge of where the sun, moon, planets and stars would be at any time throughout history. The Mayans were able to predict eclipses thousands of years ago with great accuracy using only simple tools like shadows on stones or trees as indicators of when an eclipse would happen. Some scientists believe that the Mayans used their engineering skills to build massive pyramids which still stand today as testaments to their greatness as an ancient civilization. There have been suggestions in recent times that some kind of unknown energy lies within these structures; some say it's electromagnetic energy while others say it's gravitational forces coming from deep within our planet Earth itself!
Download or read book The Conquest of the Maya written by James Leslie Mitchell and published by London : Jarrolds. This book was released on 1935 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Lost Kingdoms of the Maya written by Gene S. Stuart and published by American Society of Civil Engineers. This book was released on 1993 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Splendid color photos overshadow the text. No references. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Download or read book Maya History written by Tatiana Proskouriakoff and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2011-01-19 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tatiana Proskouriakoff, a preeminent student of the Maya, made many breakthroughs in deciphering Maya writing, particularly in demonstrating that the glyphs record the deeds of actual human beings, not gods or priests. This discovery opened the way for a history of the Maya, a monumental task that Proskouriakoff was engaged in before her death in 1985. Her work, Maya History, has been made ready for press by the able editorship of Rosemary Joyce. Maya History reconstructs the Classic Maya period (roughly A.D. 250-900) from the glyphic record on stelae at numerous sites, including Altar de Sacrificios, Copan, Dos Pilas, Naranjo, Piedras Negras, Quirigua, Tikal, and Yaxchilan. Proskouriakoff traces the spread of governmental institutions from the central Peten, especially from Tikal, to other city-states by conquest and intermarriage. Thirteen line drawings of monuments and over three hundred original drawings of glyphs amplify the text.
Download or read book Edge of Empire written by Maya Jasanoff and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this imaginative book, Maya Jasanoff uncovers the extraordinary stories of collectors who lived on the frontiers of the British Empire in India and Egypt, tracing their exploits to tell an intimate history of imperialism. Jasanoff delves beneath the grand narratives of power, exploitation, and resistance to look at the British Empire through the eyes of the people caught up in it. Written and researched on four continents, Edge of Empire enters a world where people lived, loved, mingled, and identified with one another in ways richer and more complex than previous accounts have led us to believe were possible. And as this book demonstrates, traces of that world remain tangible—and topical—today. An innovative, persuasive, and provocative work of history.
Download or read book The Maya written by Davide Domenici and published by White Star Publishers. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lavishly illustrated volume enables readers to chronologically trace the cultural development of Mesoamerica. From the imposing monumental sculptures of the Olmecs in 1500 BC to the extraordinary development of the Mayan city states of the classical period to the militaristic fervor of the kingdom of Chichen Itza to the conquest of the Mayans by the Spanish armies in the 1500s, The Mayas examines the social and cultural influences of each major period in ancient Mayan history.An insightful exploration of the significant characteristics of each society and the factors leading to the collapse of each is balanced by an examination of the social and cultural reorganization that followed each chapter in Mayan history. Accompanying the text, full-color photographs bring to life the art, architecture, religious rituals, and recreational activities of each society, creating a well-rounded portrait of a legendary era in world history.
Download or read book LOST KINGDOMS OF CENTRAL AMERICA written by Norah Romney and published by DTTV PUBLICATIONS. This book was released on 2021-02-12 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thousands of years ago, people settled in the part of the world called Mesoamerica. This region consists of southern Mexico and most of Central America as it stretches between what is now called the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Although many different countries now exist within this space, it was the original home to just one civilisation: the Olmec. As time advanced, other well-known groups became dominant in the area. These were primarily the Aztecs and the Mayan. All these early civilizations that existed from approximately 1200 BCE to 900 CE were steeped with culture, tradition, commerce, and conflict. They also offer many mysteries and enigmas to modern understanding. These are the things that make people wonder about how the civilisations arose, gained such power, and why they disappeared. Travel back in time to the first days to discover the questions that still exist in the minds of archaeologists, historians, and others who strive to understand the ancient mysteries of Mesoamerica.
Download or read book Lost Kingdoms of the Maya written by Gene S. Stuart and published by National Geographic Society. This book was released on 1993 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes index.
Download or read book The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas written by Victor Wolfgang Von Hagen and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Scorched Earth written by Emmanuel Kreike and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-25 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A global history of environmental warfare and the case for why it should be a crime The environmental infrastructure that sustains human societies has been a target and instrument of war for centuries, resulting in famine and disease, displaced populations, and the devastation of people’s livelihoods and ways of life. Scorched Earth traces the history of scorched earth, military inundations, and armies living off the land from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, arguing that the resulting deliberate destruction of the environment—"environcide"—constitutes total war and is a crime against humanity and nature. In this sweeping global history, Emmanuel Kreike shows how religious war in Europe transformed Holland into a desolate swamp where hunger and the black death ruled. He describes how Spanish conquistadores exploited the irrigation works and expansive agricultural terraces of the Aztecs and Incas, triggering a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions. Kreike demonstrates how environmental warfare has continued unabated into the modern era. His panoramic narrative takes readers from the Thirty Years' War to the wars of France's Sun King, and from the Dutch colonial wars in North America and Indonesia to the early twentieth century colonial conquest of southwestern Africa. Shedding light on the premodern origins and the lasting consequences of total war, Scorched Earth explains why ecocide and genocide are not separate phenomena, and why international law must recognize environmental warfare as a violation of human rights.
Download or read book Ancient Maya written by Arthur Demarest and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-12-09 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new archaeological study, Arthur Demarest brings the lost pre-Columbian civilization of the Maya to life. In applying a holistic perspective to the most recent evidence from archaeology, paleoecology, and epigraphy, this theoretical interpretation emphasises both the brilliant rain forest adaptations of the ancient Maya and the Native American spirituality that permeated all aspects of their daily life. Demarest draws on his own discoveries and the findings of colleagues to reconstruct the complex lifeways and volatile political history of the Classic Maya states of the first to eighth centuries. He provides a new explanation of the long-standing mystery of the ninth-century abandonment of most of the great rain forest cities. Finally, he draws lessons from the history of the Classic Maya cities for contemporary society and for the ongoing struggles and resurgence of the modern Maya peoples, who are now re-emerging from six centuries of oppression.
Download or read book The Maya Tropical Forest written by James D. Nations and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2006-06-01 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Maya Tropical Forest, which occupies the lowlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, is the closest rainforest to the United States and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Western Hemisphere. It has been home to the Maya peoples for nearly four millennia, starting around 1800 BC. Ancient cities in the rainforest such as Palenque, Yaxchilan, Tikal, and Caracol draw thousands of tourists and scholars seeking to learn more about the prehistoric Maya. Their contemporary descendants, the modern Maya, utilize the forest's natural resources in village life and international trade, while striving to protect their homeland from deforestation and environmental degradation. Writing for both visitors and conservationists, James Nations tells the fascinating story of how ancient and modern Maya peoples have used and guarded the rich natural resources of the Maya Tropical Forest. He opens with a natural history that profiles the forest's significant animals and plants. Nations then describes the Maya peoples, biological preserves, and major archaeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of conservation work in the Maya Tropical Forest, Nations tells first-hand stories of the creation of national parks and other protected areas to safeguard the region's natural resources and archaeological heritage. He concludes with an expert assessment of the forest's future in which he calls for expanded archaeological tourism to create an ecologically sustainable economic base for the region.
