Los cuatro cielos. Una nueva historia de la civilización maya

For centuries, the Maya civilization lay hidden behind ruined cities swallowed by the rainforest. Thanks to the most recent archaeological discoveries, we can finally tell their story from their perspective. In "The Four Heavens", renowned historian and archaeologist David Stuart reveals that the Maya did not experience a single rise and fall, but rather a series of births and collapses spanning nearly three millennia. Through the decipherment of their hieroglyphs, he recounts the emergence of the first permanent settlements, characterized by monumental architecture and flourishing urbanism, which marked the beginning of the Classic period in the mid-second century CE. He unveils a world of majestic royal courts closely linked by marriages, shifting alliances, and warfare. He also examines in detail the great Kanul and Mutul dynasties, whose rivalry shaped the fate of the surrounding kingdoms, culminating in the "Great Rupture" of the ninth century, when cities were abandoned amidst internal conflicts, social tensions, and environmental changes. With accessible prose and numerous illustrations, The Four Heavens portrays the Mayan civilization as a constellation of interconnected, ever-moving kingdoms that are born, clash, fall, and reinvent themselves throughout the centuries.