RECOMMENDED READING

Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya
a review by Ron Mader

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Victoria Schlesinger
Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya, Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002

One of the best books of the past year, this work combines the details of a scientific field guide with anthropological research. The result is outstanding.

Author Victoria Schlesinger tells the story about the animals and plants most commonly seen in Mundo Maya -- Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. The book provides a synthesis of current research and will delight specialists and travelers alike. Chapters focus on Pine-Oak, Cloud and Tropical Forests, Savannas, Mangroves and Coral Reefs.

The book is well illustrated with line drawings by Juan C. Chab-Medina. This is a beautiful book which would make an excellent holiday gift. I'm trying to think of a book that has piqued my interest as much as Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya, and I'd have to put this a category with Lane Simonian's Defending the Land of the Jaguar. Excellent!

Excerpts from Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya:

This guide to the Maya area, unique in its essay format, attempts to cater to various situations, interests and styles. You may read straight through the book as you travel, or while at home, in order to gain the entire story of the Maya area, or you may refer to it for identifying and learning about a specific species. (p. 2)

Before delving into the lives of the ancient Maya, one should realize that living in the Maya area today are about four million people who speak any one of twenty-eight or more Mayan languages. (p. 13)

The spiritual permeated all aspects of ancient Maya existence and continues to for many Maya today. No distinction lay between the sacred and the profane. The success of the milpa (corn field) had as much, if not more, to do with the will and satisfaction of the Otherworld as it did with a person's farming techniques. (p. 44)

"Conchs, sea fans, various shells, coral, sand dollars, clusters of bryozoans and other marine life were left in collections around many Maya centers. The shells had no carvings, no drilled holes, no signs of decoration, and by modern standards they were not beautiful shells at all ... Shells were offered in their most natural state, as if the intention were to maintain their marine appearance. The exact significance of these collections will probably never be known, beyond the fact that the Maya clearly revered the sea. (p. 293)

"Resplendent Quetzal: As the male plummets, his rounded head and shoulders blur into one long, thin rippling body. He drops straight out of the sky like a tiny spirit diving into the jungle. And then he starts the journey again, climbing up the air currents, his tail feathers chasing him like undulating serpents, like the god Quetzalcoatl. The Nahuatl word "Quetzalcoatl" translates to "feathered serpent god" or "quetzal serpent" and aptly describes the Toltec god with its protruding beaklike nose and quetzal plumes rolling down its serpentine spine. (p. 92)

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Ron Mader lives in Mexico and hosts the award-winning Planeta.com website -- www.planeta.com. Ron is the author of the Exploring Ecotourism Resource Guide and can be contracted for presentations and workshops.

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