This volume retraces the development and magnificent flowering of Mayan architecture in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize over the period 300 B.C.-A.D. 1500. Tikal, the earliest Mayan religious centre, Palenque famous for its ceremonial centre, and Copan with its hieroglyphic staircase featuring 2500 glyphs are among the cities featured, along with Chichen Itza and its ball court, and Bonampak and its frescoes. These astounding creations testify to the knowledge and refinement of the most advanced of the pre-Columbian civilizations. Book jacket.