Unlock the mysteries of the Mayan world. Deep in the rain forests of South and Central America, the Mayan culture thrived for almost 4,000 years. From the earliest Mayan farmer in 2,600 BC through the thirteenth century AD, the Maya developed an elaborate society, built great cities and temples, and created the only real system of writing native to the Americas. Although many of the intricacies of the Mayan culture remain shrouded in mystery, hundreds of new discoveries have come to light in recent years, and our body of knowledge about the Maya has grown by leaps and bounds. Now, the most fascinating new discoveries have been compiled into one volume: Secrets of the Maya, a book from the editors of Archaeology Magazine. From the discovery of ancient caves used for religious rituals—including human sacrifice—to the search for the long-lost "White City," Secrets of the Maya will take readers on an exciting and surprising archaeological journey. Featuring articles on the latest research, a comprehensive time line, and a special section on Mayan hieroglyphs, Secrets of the Maya will appeal to experts and amateurs alike.

Did Maya peoples and their calendar predict the end of the world? Will the world end soon? This book has an answer to these questions and more in language and pictures that kids are sure to enjoy. Come join Carlos, Lucia, and their new friend Julia as they learn about the Maya calendar and go on a dream journey to find the truth about the end of the world! Along the way, they meet a talking macaw named Octavio, discover the secret of the Maya glyph for the end of time, fly down a portal to the ancient city of Chichen Itza, hear the song of the daykeeper Smoking Parrot, and learn the magic of the phrase "the beginning is in the end." Authors Laanna and David Carrasco are a father-and-daughter team with ethnic roots in Mexico who descend from generations of schoolteachers and an artist from the United States-Mexico borderlands. Illustrated with drawings by Marlo Garnsworthy and photographs.

The Maya have been an enigma since their discovery in the mid- 19th century. Maya science developed an elegant mathematic system, an incredibly accurate astronomy, and one of the world's five original written languages. This technology was more advanced than similar European technology by more than a thousand years. In this book, you'll see how James O'Kon, a professional engineer, synergistically applied field exploration, research, forensic engineering, and 3-D virtual reconstruction of Maya projects to discover lost Maya technological achievements. These lost principles of technology enabled Maya engineers to construct grand cities that towered above the rainforest, water systems with underground reservoirs for water storage, miles of all-weather paved roads tracking through the jungle, and the longest bridge in the ancient world. Maya engineers developed structural mechanics for multi-story buildings that were not exceeded in height until the first "skyscraper" built in Chicago in 1885, invented the blast furnace 2,000 years before it was patented in England, and developed the vulcanization of rubber more than 2,600 years before Charles Goodyear. Discover a host of unknown wonders in The Lost Secrets of Maya Technology.

Ancient Maya civilization thrived in the tropics of Central America for more than a thousand years and produced some of the world's finest architecture and art. Then it mysteriously vanished, leaving a landscape of ruins smothered by forests. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the great puzzles of history, ranking alongside the Fall of Rome as an enigma that has intrigued scholars for generations.

Secrets in Stone takes you through how the great cities of the Maya were rediscovered and how after a century the secrets of the Maya hieroglyphs were deciphered, revealing the lost culture of the Maya. Page by page, this ancient civilization comes alive with many colourful illustrations and intriguing photographs that introduce us to its cities, kings, rituals and costumes. Includes a GlyphMaster for creating your very own mystery messages.

The Internet, bookshelves, and movie theaters are full of prophecies, theories, and predictions that December 21, 2012, marks the end of the world. Award-winning astronomer and Mayan researcher Aveni explores these theories, explains their origins, and measures them objectively against evidence unearthed by Maya archaeologists, iconographers, and epigraphers.