A SMALL GALLERY OF MAYA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
The world of the ancient Maya was, and still is a truly amazing place. Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity into the early modern period. It developed in an area that today comprises southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. Its existence stretched, in time, from 2,000 BCE though the fall of Tayasal in CE 1697, the last capital city of the Itza Maya kingdom in what is now in the modern department of Petén in northern Guatemala. This wondrous and enigmatic civilization left behind itself a multitude of awe inspiring remnants that still take one’s breath away.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have visited more than forty significant Maya archaeological sites. Each site is wonderful and unique in its own right, and much of my inspiration for Gods of Rain and Blood comes from wandering among these astonishing remnants of greatness. I admit that in my book I took liberties and ascribed to the Maya activity that might have more reasonably taken place in an earlier era, but that is just an author’s prerogative. Visiting the Maya world today, old and new, is a sublime experience, and one that I highly recommend. In the meantime, enjoy this simple gallery.
