Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya: A GuideA growing interest in all things Maya brings an increasing number of visitors to prehistoric Maya ruins and contemporary Maya communities in Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, western Honduras, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the southern areas of Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico. For these visitors and indeed everyone with an interest in the Maya, this field guide highlights nearly 100 species of plants and animals that were significant to the ancient Maya and that continue to inhabit the Maya region today. Drawing from the disciplines of biology, ecology, and anthropology, Victoria Schlesinger describes each plant or animal's habitat and natural history, identifying characteristics (also shown in a black-and-white drawing), and cultural significance to the ancient and contemporary Maya. An introductory section explains how to use the book and offers a concise overview of the history, lifeways, and cosmology of the ancient Maya. The concluding section describes the collapse of ancient Maya society and briefly traces the history of the Maya region from colonial times to the present. |
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Common terms and phrases
agoutis Aguilar ahaw ancient Maya ancient Mesoamerican art bark bat falcon bees begin Belize birds body branches called canopy Caribbean carved ceiba centers Central America ceremonies Chichen Itza Classic period cloud forests cm long coast coatis conch Copan coral crested guans culture deer dry forest eggs Emmons feathers feed female flowers fruit ground grow Guatemala Habitat highlands Honduras Howell and Webb hunt Identification iguana insects Itza jaguar jungle Kaminaljuyu land leaves lianas live lowland macaw magnificent frigatebirds male manatee mangrove mating Maya area Mayan Mexican Mexico nest northern oaks ornate hawk-eagle peccaries Peten pine plants Pohl Popol Vuh Postclassic Preclassic predators prey quetzal ramón range reef roadside hawks savannas seeds Sharer shell Similar species Skutch snakes soil southern tail tapir termites thorny oyster Tikal toad toucans tree tropical forest tropical wet forests turtle vegetation wings young Yucatan Peninsula