A photographic essay on the birth and development of the Maya civilization, including sites, surroundings, monuments, museum pieces and collections. Gedrukt boek, Engels, ©1994. Translation of: L'art maya. Opmerkingen taal:. Translated from the French. The limitations of archaeology. Diversity in the human adventure. The cultural background of the pre-Columbians. The structure of the book. I. The Olmec dawn. Living conditions. Excavations at La Venta. The earth pyramid. The ball court. The ceremonial centre of San Lorenzo. Monumental statuary. Small stone art. Olmec expansion. The religious system. The Olmec legacy. II. The rise of the Maya. The Maya world. The physical environment. Canals revealed by aerial radar. Natural resources. Maya origins. First signs of the Maya. Architecture and the city. Tikal : a giant among Maya ceremonial centres. Copan and Quirigua : the Rio Motagua valley. The Maya calendar. III. Palenque and western Maya art. The discovery of Palenque. The undisturbed crypt. Architectural innovations. Decorative sculpture. Funerary customs. Maya hieroglyphic writing. The latest progress in decipherment. Yaxchilan and Bonampak. IV. On the periphery of Yucatan. Dzibilchaltun and the earliest Yucatec architecture. Coba and the Maya causeways. Southern Yucatan and the Rio Bec style. Edzna and its five-stage edifice. The necropolis on Jaina Island. Classic pottery. V. The masterpieces of the Puuc style. Uxmal : an architectural apotheosis. Planning the centre. The main groups at Uxmal. Maya building techniques. Further Puuc sites. The correlation of the Maya and Christian calendars. The benefits of carbon-14. VI. The Toltec-Maya renaissance. The Toltec migration. Chichen Itza before the Toltecs. The Caracol and astronomical observation. A 'super-Tula' in Yucatan. The Temple of the Warriors and its surroundings. The ball game and human sacrifice. The Maya universe and the gods. The last centres of the Maya world.