By Shep Lenchek © 2003
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Exploring the Yucatan - A Traveler's Anthology
By Richard D. Perry.
A Review
Full Article Concepts:Mayan, Yucatan, reports, Exploring, Spaniards, accounts, travel, discovery, Mayan civilization, attention, ruins, city, Merida, materials, buildings, Europeans, jungle, readers, impressions, glimpse, Perry, Richard, Anthology, Shep Lenchek, Cuidad, Antonio, natives, Spanish attitude, clue, torn.Summary:
Indispensable for anyone heading for the Mayan world of the Yucatan and equally interesting for those who have been there, this Traveler's Anthology gives a comprehensive overview of the exploration of the area.
The book begins with short biographical sketches of, and reports from, those who first explored the Yucatan and brought the Mayans to the attention of the world.
We get their first impressions of the wonders of the Mayan civilization as they were discovered.
Some readers may find this distracting but overall the book presents a fascinating study of both the Mayans and those who braved the hardships of travel into what is, even today, a jungle.
"Part One,The Early Accounts," deals with the early contacts between Mayans and Europeans.
The very first occurred in 1502 when Christopher Columbus, then on his fourth voyage, encountered a Mayan trading canoe in the Gulf of Honduras.
Loaded with cotton cloth, Cacao, copper axes and bells, flint knives and slaves, it gave the Spaniards a fleeting glimpse of the accomplishments of one the most advanced civilizations in Mezzo-America, but was quickly forgotten.
The first discovery of remnants of a Mayan city that lay hidden in the Yucatan jungle came in 1588, when a young priest, Fray Antonio de Cuidad Real, started to explore the area.
"Exploring Yucatan" might well have been subtitled, "Mexico's Last Frontier," for even now it remains isolated, it's inhabitants fiercely independent.
For serious students, the author has included two and a half pages of source material, a list of suggested further readings and a glossary of terms.
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