Michael D Coe

"Mexico arrives in its eighth edition with a new look and the most recent discoveries. This is the story of the pre-Spanish people of Mexico, who, with their neighbors the Maya, formed some of the most complex societies north of the Andes. Revised and expanded, the book is updated with the latest developments and findings in the field and current terminology. The new edition includes expanded coverage of Oaxaca, particularly Monte Albaþn, one of...

"The story begins some 3,000 years ago in the jungles of Mexico and Central America with the chocolate tree, Theobroma Cacao, and the complex processes necessary to transform its bitter seeds into what is now known as chocolate. This was centuries before chocolate was consumed in generally unsweetened liquid form and used as currency by the Maya, and the Aztecs after them. The Spanish conquest of Central America introduced chocolate to Europe, where...

The ancient Maya civilization of Central America left behind an intricate and mysterious hieroglyphic script carved on monuments and painted on pottery and bark books. This program highlights the ingenious breakthroughs that cracked the code, unleashing a flood of dramatic new insights about the ancient civilization.