Biologia Centrali-Americana: Contributions to the Knowledge of the Fauna and Flora of Mexico and Central America

"Archaeology in Biologia Centrali-Americana, Or, Contributions to the Knowledge of the Fauna and Flora of Mexico and Central America" took Maudslay 13 years to complete. Originally published in 1902, the pioneering work was sold only through the renowned bookshop, Arte Primitivo in New York City. It now is being distributed throughout North America by the OU Press. Maudslay, who from the ages of 31 to 44 devoted his life to the Maya ruins, laid the foundation on which Maya archaeology now stands. He spent the whole or a large part of eight dry seasons working among the ruins, excavating, taking notes, making photographs and preparing molds. During the lull of the rainy seasons, he assembled the material, wrote the narrative and supervised the work of skilled artists employed to render drawings of the glyphs in restored condition. The first two bound volumes present drawings and photographs of Maya ruins on an extraordinary scale, the pages measuring 11 ¾ inches high and 18 inches wide. The next two volumes contain Maudslay’s commentary and an appendix on archaic calendars by J. T. Goodman. The introduction is by Francis Robicsek, adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and chairman of the department of thoracic cardiovascular surgery at the Charlotte Memorial Hospital and Medical Center. Robicsek is the author of The Smoking Gods: Tobacco in Maya Art, History, and Religion and the co-author with Donald Hales of The Maya Book of the Dead: The Ceramic Codex, both available from the OU Press.