While Europe was buried in the Dark Ages the Maya were producing astonishing sculpture stelae & wall murals as well as building magnificent temples tombs & ball courts. This extraordinary volume pairs the leading Maya scholar & one of the worlds finest photographers of ancient sites to trace the rise & fall of Mayan civilization through its great royal cities. From El Mirador to the cities of the Maya Renaissance & finally to Chichen Itza where the 700-year flowering of the Mayan people came to a halt the riveting history of powerful dynasties political intrigues & a flourishing culture is illuminated through new research & evocative photographs. A new reading of artifacts reliefs murals maps & other archaeological evidence allows Coe to untangle the complex sequence of internecine ritual warfare that fatally weakened the late Maya era. Documented with specially commissioned maps & plans based on the latest research Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya" will be irresistible to everyone from the casual visitor to Pre-Columbian experts."