Ancient Central America

Central and South America were full of great civilizations. This book discusses five of the most famous: the Olmecs, Toltecs, Aztecs, Incas, and Maya. These civilizations first showed up in Central and South America over 1,000 years ago, and some descendants of these tribes are still living in these regions today!

These are the true life tales of adventure and travel throughout Central America by John L. Stephens who employed Frederick Catherwood to create artistic renderings of their discoveries. First published in 1858, the world was amazed and intrigued by their travels.

If you're looking for a captivating collection of Central American myths, then pay attention.... Mexico and the Central American states are home to many indigenous peoples, each of whom speaks their own language and lives according to their own customs. These diverse peoples have rich storytelling cultures, passing down myths about gods and the work of creation, and about the humans who for good or ill interact with these otherworldly beings.

In 1839 rumors of extraordinary yet baffling stone ruins buried within the unmapped jungles of Central America reached two of the world's most intrepid travelers. Seized by the reports, American diplomat John Lloyd Stephens and British artist Frederick Catherwood sailed together out of New York Harbor on an expedition into the forbidding rainforests of present-day Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. What they found would rewrite the West's understanding of human history.

The Maya forged one of the greatest societies in the history of the ancient Americas and in all of human history. Long before contact with Europeans, Maya communities built spectacular cities with large, well-fed large populations. They mastered the visual arts, and developed a sophisticated writing system that recorded extraordinary knowledge in calendrics, mathematics, and astronomy. The Maya achieved all this without area-wide centralized control.

From the fantastic exploits of the Hero Twins to the stories of how the world came to be to folktales about people, animals, and supernatural beings, Maya myth presents us with a fascinating variety of characters, plots, and imagery. All of these tales, whether from an ancient or more modern source, reveal the great richness and beauty of Maya literature. Enjoy this captivating collection of Maya myths.

Opium tells the extraordinary and at times harrowing tale of how we arrived at today's crisis, "mak[ing] timely and startling connections among painkillers, politics, finance, and society" (Laurence Bergreen). The story begins with the discovery of poppy artifacts in ancient Mesopotamia, and goes on to explore how Greek physicians and obscure chemists discovered opium's effects and refined its power, how colonial empires marketed it around the world, and eventually how international drug companies developed a range of powerful synthetic opioids that led to an addiction epidemic.

For a long time, our scientists thought man was of comparatively modern origin - that mankind has possibly existed 50 thousand years. It is now conceded we may possibly have been on Earth for as long as a million years, or even more. This audiobook, dictated by the enlightened sage commander Valiant Thor (known as "The Stranger at the Pentagon") deals with the prehistory of the human race and the bearing it has had on the people of our present time.

This audiobook explores the glories and misfortunes of the Maya civilization and provides a deeper look at their pre-Columbian battling dynasties and their highly structured approach to religion, science, and society.

La mitología de la civilización azteca, que gobernó el centro de México en los años 1400 y principios de 1500, representaba una unión de grandeza y pavor. El mundo fue creado y destruido en el mito, y los dioses magníficos lucharon entre sí. todos los dias artículo: color, número, deidad, día de el calendario adquirió un significado particular ya que cada uno estaba vinculado con una deidad. La vida religiosa azteca varió desde manteniendo estatuillas de arcilla del dios en el hogar a asistir a elaboradas ceremonias públicas que involucran sacrificios humanos.

América Central y del Sur estuvieron llenas de grandes civilizaciones. Este libro analiza cinco de las más famosas: los olmecas, los toltecas, los aztecas, los incas y los mayas. Estas civilizaciones aparecieron por primera vez en América Central y del Sur hace más de mil años, y algunos descendientes de estas tribus siguen viviendo en estas regiones en la actualidad.

When you think of the Aztecs, you might think of certain movies you have seen or what you've been taught in history class. And although some of those images and descriptions fit the main narrative, there is still much left to be discovered. The Inca empire was vast and massive. Infamous among the historical stories from the Spanish invaders are the evidence of human sacrifice and their polytheistic views on nature and life. Other aspects of the Inca empire constitute of the role women, children, and merchants played, and their extensive system of roads, networks, and travel points.

Travel back to a thousand years before the Aztecs, when volcanos obliterated cities, impelling the survivors to find a place of safety. These survivors built the largest city in the Americas and one of the world’s top seven megacities. They erected the highest pyramid in Mexico and apartment compounds for 125,000 people. Teotihuacan stood out as Mesoamerica’s leading metropolis from the third to sixth century CE. Its multi-ethnic population developed coast-to-coast trade, extending south to Central America.

In this comprehensive survey, updated for this new edition, Henderson explores the entire Maya cultural tradition, from the earliest traces of settlement through the period of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. His wide-ranging account treats diverse aspects of the Maya world, from religion and philosophy to the environments of the various Maya peoples, using deciphered Maya texts to reconstruct the ancient societies.

Around 2,000 years ago, the Maya people were raising pyramids to house their many gods and to bury their kings. This is just one of the special secrets uncovered by archaeologists in their stunning finds in parts of Central America. More than anything, the Maya left us with many questions. It’s the job of scientists and archaeologists to explain how a thriving people came to such a quick end. There are no simple answers, but we can discover so much with a shovel and brushes! Come, explore this fascinating civilization with us - and don’t forget your Indiana Jones hat!

A hurricane is brewing in the jungles of the Maya, and the ancient Death Lords are on the warpath. Across the world in Venice, Italy, hanging out with his blogger friend Nasty (Anastasia) Smith-Jones and eating Pizza Gelato, Max Murphy thinks he is safe from their clutches. But when a rogue octopus pulls him off his gondola and tries to drag him down to the underworld, Max realizes that the Death Lords have not finished with him yet.

Diesmal bringt das magische Baumhaus Anne und Philipp an den Fuß eines Berges in Peru. In der Nähe lebende Bauern erzählen ihnen von einem gestohlenen Babylama, und die Geschwister versprechen, das Tier zu seinen Besitzern zurückzubringen. Doch der Weg ist tückisch: Die Suche nach dem Kleinen führt die Kinder in die geheimnisvolle Inka-Stadt Machu Picchu. Ob ihnen die Lama-Legende helfen kann, das junge Tier sicher nach Hause zu bringen?

Ancient Night is a twist on two Nahuatl traditions: the rabbit which the Feathered Serpent placed on the moon, and Yaushu, the Lord Opossum who ruled the earth before humans came, and who stole fire from the gods to create the sun.

Deep in the jungle, among the rubber trees, the Olmec people lived thousands of years ago. Did you know they were the first to make chocolate? Did you know they loved to play sports? Did you know they were the first people to harvest latex into rubber? Did you know they believed in shape-shifting jaguars and carved huge stone heads? Come meet the Rubber People, and learn their ancient secrets!

Who are the Mayans (MY-anns)? Why are they a mystery? Where did they come from? What did they eat? Why did they build pyramids? What did they predict would happen in the future? Why did the Mayan civilization die out? What can we learn from the ancient Mayans?