Tikal: The Center of the Maya World

by Elizabeth Mann

Book Overview

During the first millennium AD, one of the world's great civilizations appeared in the dense jungles of Mesoamerica. All over the Yucatan Peninsula, the Maya mastered sophisticated principles of mathematics, architecture, agriculture and astronomy and created scores of powerful city-states. At the center of this world was the largest city of them all -- Tikal.

Sprawling over twenty-five square miles, Tikal was situated in the heart of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 193141405X
• ISBN13: 9781931414050
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Mikaya Press
• Length: 47 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 10.6" x 9.8"
• Age Range: 9 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 8

Customer Reviews

A Combination of History and Architecture

Elizabeth Mann's "Wonders of the World" series examine buildings and other structures that range in time from Ancient Egypt to the Great Depression. Typically, her books begin by placing the featured building in their proper historical context. Once this context is established, Mann delves into the construction details of the buildigns. Each book is accompanied with detailed illustrations. It has been only in the last fifty years that the history of Tikal has been slowly unraveled with the decyphering of Mayan glyphs. Mann uses the latest archaeological findings to take young readers back to the 800's when Tikal reached its full glory. Mann writes well and both children and adults will enjoy reading the book. Of special note are the carefully rendered illustrations of Tom McNeely. His water color paintings remind me of the beautiful illustrations that graced John L Stephen's classic "Incidents of Travel in the Yucatan". Tikal is a great purchase for all those who love that heady mix of history and architecture. Highly recommended.

The splendors of Tikal

This is a very good book to get the attention of youth about the Maya. It is enjoyable for us oldsters too.