Two Penn State faculty co-author new book on the Maya

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Amara Solari, professor of art history and archaeology, and Matthew Restall, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Colonial Latin American History, Anthropology and Women’s Studies, are co-authors of “The Maya: A Very Short Introduction,” recently published by Oxford University Press (OUP).

The book, part of Oxford University Press’ series of “concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects,” explores the themes of Maya identity, city-state political culture, art and architecture, the Maya concept of the cosmos, and the Maya experience of contact with — including invasion by — outsiders. Despite its brevity, this book is unique for its treatment of all periods of Maya civilization, from its origins to the present.

Restall and Solari are also co-authors of “2012 and the End of the World: The Western Roots of the Maya Apocalypse,” which examines the survival of the apocalypse discourse. For more on the book, visit the OUP website.