The Maya are of enormous and abiding fascination to anybody interested in archaeology, ancient history, astronomy, or the visual arts. From the 3rd century BC to the 14th century AD, while Europe was deep in the Dark and Middle Ages, the Maya were producing astonishing sculpture, stelae, and wall murals, and building magnificent temples, palaces, tombs, and ball courts. Now, in this extraordinary volume pairing a leading Maya scholar and one of the world’s finest photographers of ancient sites, the rich cultural heritage of the Maya is brought vividly and authoritatively to life.
Author Michael Coe traces the rise and fall of Maya civilization through its great royal cities, from El Mirador, the largest and oldest, to the rival city-states of the Classical period such as Tikal, Calakmul, Yaxchilán, Palenque, Toniná, and Copán. He then moves on to the great cities of the Terminal Classic period; at a time when the mighty centers of the southern lowlands were in a steep decline, cities to the north such as Uxmal and Kabah achieved a pinnacle of architectural beauty. After that he turns to the Postclassic period and Chichén Itzá in central Yucatán, a huge, cosmopolitan city that flourished during a military and cultural takeover by the Toltecs of central Mexico. Through convincing analysis of archaeological evidence, new readings, of artifacts, reliefs, and murals, Professor Coe untangles the complex sequences of internecine ritual warfare that eventually weakened Maya civilization.
Illustrating Coe’s riveting history of these remarkable polities, the powerful dynasties that led them, and the political intrigues and armed conflicts that threatened their existence, are the exceptionally evocative photographs of Barry Brukoff, whose color and sepia imagery recalls the lithographs of the early-nineteenth-century artist and explorer Frederick Catherwood.
Praise for Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya:
"This book takes us on a three-thousand-year journey through Maya history, from nascent agrarian communities to coastal shrines of Yucatán on the eve of the Spanish conquest. Along the way, we visit the major centers of ancient Maya civilization, and in each locale we are given a unique private tour of its remarkable art and architecture through Barry Brukoff’s masterly photographs. Our guide on this epic journey is Michael Coe, whose vivid account is informed by vast knowledge of Mesoamerican culture. Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya is an experience not to be missed."—Professor Andrea Stone, Department of Art History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
"A sumptuous presentation of all things Maya. The architecture, art, and history of this extraordinary people are covered in great detail, from the first farmers to the arrival of the Spaniards. During this long interval of some 3500 years, the Maya created one of the most distinctive of ancient civilizations, here wonderfully revealed by Michael Coe, a leading authority in the field, and the superb photographs of Barry Brukoff. Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya is a feast for the eye and the mind for the scholar and the general reader alike."—Dr. David L. Webster, Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania
"Stunning photographs by Barry Brukoff illuminate insights and smart prose from Michael Coe, one of the most knowledgeable scholars of the ancient Maya, in Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya. For both general readers and specialists, this highly readable book offers wonderful surprises, along with the latest and most up-to-date interpretations. No bookshelf should be without it."—Dr. Mary Miller, Dean of Yale College, Sterling Professor of Art, History of Art of the Ancient New World, author of The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec
"This book is glorious. Panoramic in two senses, it offers masterful commentary by Michael Coe, doyen of Mayanist scholars, along with Barry Brukoff’s atmospheric photos, the next-best-thing to visiting the great Maya cities. Any reader will feel the immediate urge to board a plane, book in hand. If ruins can be brought to life, Coe and Brukoff have done so with this elegant volume."—Dr. Stephen Houston, Dupee Family Professor of Social Sciences, Brown University
"Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya with text by Michael D. Coe and photography by Barry Brukoff is the most fascinating and gorgeous book to land on my doorstep this year." - A Traveler's Library
"An outstanding and luminous work that will be enjoyed by anyone pursuing a greater understanding of Mayan history and cultulre." -Library Journal
"Coe, a leading Mayan scholar, traces the rise and fall of Mayan civilization in a book that combines archaeology, ancient history, astronomy and visual arts. . . . Brukoff, who specializes in photographing ancient sites took pictures from El Mirador, one of Maya's great royal cities, to Chichen Itza in central Yucatan, a cosmopolitan city that flourished during a military and cultural takeover by the Toltechs of central Mexico." —St. Paul Pioneer Press
"Through a powerful alignment of text focused on essential history and a generous series of rich, atmospheric photographs, Coe and Brukoff have created a marriage of Mayan history and beauty that is just as much an education as it is eye-candy." - Highbrow Magazine
Praise for Barry Brukoff’s photography:
"[T]hese photos . . . do undeniably have something special in them, something more beautiful and mysterious that is quite hard to define. Perhaps it is his sense of light, which is extraordinarily fine in both day and evening . . . so many of his photos feature both sun and shadow, always giving rise to the feeling that there is something wonderful half-hidden there in the dark. . . ."—Photo District News
"Attracted to the sacred sites of ancient civilization for the sense of spiritual integration that they give him, Barry Brukoff absorbs himself in these places—taking in the scene, and then photographing it with the aim of communicating his experience of heightened and energetic peace. A consummate photographer, Brukoff is equally at home in color and sepia. Spiritual awakening translates visually for Brukoff into an exquisite sense of beauty that in most of his images makes us want them to materialize so that we could dwell inside the scene. With light at the center of his aesthetic, varying degrees and forms of illumination propel Brukoff’s images beyond familiarity, drawing us into his subjective response. It matters less where he has taken us in space than what we feel when we are there."—Michael Weinstein, Newcity Art, Chicago
"Award-winning photographer Barry Brukoff has been photographing ancient architecture for close to a half century. The dramatic passage of time reflected in vine-wrapped doors or moss-covered stairways evokes a broad range of response: a sense of loss, mystery, the transience of everything, of romantic conjecture on the nature of the builders, and awe at what was possible in the distant past that seems impossible today. Brukoff’s photos are both documents of place and poetic response to the passage of time."—Douglas Dawson
"Countless thousands of cameras have preceded Brukoff's at Stonehenge, at Machu Picchu, in classical Greece, yet there is a particular personal voice in these photographs. There are also some great thematic compulsions in his work. Many of his photographs gravitate to the monuments (aesthetic, practical or spiritual) our species has created. In interpreting them, he seeks to direct our vision. He is, in fact, re-presenting them, since other artists have preceded him or even we ourselves have experienced these monuments directly. In doing so Brukoff selects themes we agree are important and seeks to remind us of their importance; they are images geared towards understanding." (Morrie Camhi)
"Part of what makes Temples of Cambodia: The Heart of Angkor so appealing is its photographer’s long-term vision and commitment."—The New York Times
"Temples of Cambodia: The Heart of Angkor is a magnificent journey through the remnants of the least-known of the great world civilizations. . . . Though they take ruins as their subject, Mr. Brukoff’s images capture the most timeless elements of Khmer ingenuity. Choosing a perspective above that makes the colonnades of Bayon, an Angkor temple, seem endless, he shows the plan behind the beauty."—The Wall Street Journal
"Barry Brukoff’s photographs of ancient Asian temples let you visit from your armchair—no machetes needed."—Reader’s Digest
"[Temples of Cambodia] explores the history of the huge complex of temples built over five centuries by the Khmer, one of the world’s longest-lived cultures. These remarkable structures’ engineering and embellishment trace the progress of an empire; Brukoff’s sensitive photos, taken over almost 50 years, include temples since destroyed."—St. Petersburg Times
"Combining the stunning color and black-and-white photography of award-winning photographer Barry Brukoff with in-depth historical context provided by leading Khmer historian Helen Ibbitson Jessup, Temples of Cambodia details the rich and storied history of the architectural achievements of an ancient empire."—Austin American-Statesman
"Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya with text by Michael D. Coe and photography by Barry Brukoff is the most fascinating and gorgeous book to land on my doorstep this year."—A Traveler's Library
"The history of Mayan civilization as seen throguh the development and decline of its many impressive city-states is effectively presented here through brilliantly crafted text by Coe (anthropology, emeritus, Yale University) and stunning photographs by Brukoff...the complex political and cultural dynamics of the entire span of Mayan history vividly come to life through this beautiful book. An outstanding and luminous work that will be enjoyed by anyone pursuing a greater understanding of Mayan history and culture."—Library Journal
Overview
The Maya are of enormous and abiding fascination to anybody interested in archaeology, ancient history, astronomy, or the visual arts. From the 3rd century BC to the 14th century AD, while Europe was deep in the Dark and Middle Ages, the Maya were producing astonishing sculpture, stelae, and wall murals, and building magnificent temples, palaces, tombs, and ball courts. Now, in this extraordinary volume pairing a leading Maya scholar and one of the world’s finest photographers of ancient sites, the rich cultural ...