The book is not just multidisciplinary but interdisciplinary, linking, for example, the architecture of monuments with epigraphy, language concepts, and human events.

A recent string of popular-level books written by the New Atheists have leveled the accusation that the God of the Old Testament is nothing but a bully, a murderer, and a cosmic child abuser. This viewpoint is even making inroads into the church. How are Christians to respond to such accusations? And how are we to reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of God portrayed in the two testaments? In this timely and readable book, apologist Paul Copan takes on some of the most vexing accusations of our time, including: God is arrogant and jealous God punishes people too harshly God is guilty of ethnic cleansing God oppresses women God endorses slavery Christianity causes violence and more Copan not only answers God's critics, he also shows how to read both the Old and New Testaments faithfully, seeing an unchanging, righteous, and loving God in both.

Copan in modern Honduras was one of the great cities of the Classic Maya. Explorers found ruined temples, plazas, and more hieroglyphic inscriptions and sculpted monuments than in any other site in the New World. But the stones were silent, the script undeciphered.

"This volume collects leading scholarship on one of the most important archaeological complexes in the ancient Maya world. The authors - internationally renowned experts who participated in the Copan Acropolis Archaeological Project - address enduring themes in Maya archaeology, such as symbolism and its use in elite legitimation strategies, demographics and ancient political economy, and the relationship between water management and social structure. In addition to site-specific breakthroughs involving dynastic sequences, epigraphy, and chronologies, these essays explore questions of broad interest to archaeologists and other anthropologists, including state formation, architecture and space, and the relationship between history and archaeology as well as among archaeology, epigraphy, and iconography. Synthesizing the new findings in the context of the long history of Maya archaeology, the volume takes stock of the field and suggests future directions for research."--BOOK JACKET.

Copán, one of the most important Classic Maya sites, is renowned for the artistry of its high-relief stelae and altars and for the wealth of detail on its freestanding and architectural sculpture. In Maya Sculpture of Copán: The Iconography, internationally known Mayanist Claude-François Baudez provides a masterful survey of these elaborate and intriguing carved images. In Part I, Baudez identifies and deciphers the specific motifs on each monument and shows how the elements were combined to produce meaningful iconographic messages. The architectural sculpture expresses the meaning and function of the buildings and complexes, many designed to represent the sky, earth, and underworld and to serve as stages for rituals. Photographs and drawings clarify the intricate forms. Part II relates the iconography to the religion and politics of the city-state. Baudez traces the evolution of the motifs in relation to the history of Copán and the multiple functions of the king—his cosmic role, the continuous reference to his ancestors, and the dynastic cycles. Sacrifice—bloodletting by the king and the sacrifice of captives—is of paramount importance. Growth and rebirth required constant offerings of blood to the earth and to the sun, to ensure its rebirth at dawn after its nocturnal journey through the underworld. The monuments give a coherent picture of Maya cosmology.

The Skyband Group is an impressive elite site in the urban core of Copán, Honduras, which is dominated by the palatial compounds of Maya sub-royal nobles. Such grandees often bore court titles showing that they were clients and officials of kings, but also competitors for political power, especially just before the dynastic collapse around AD 800.

Dorie Reents-Budet, Curator, Pre-Columbian Art, Duke University Museum of Art, Claude Baudez, William Fash Jr., Berthold Riese, William Sanders, and David Webster contribute to this monograph, and using an integrated art historical and anthropological approach, consider the House of the Bacabs' context as an elite Maya structure, its excavation and restoration, and its iconographic and epigraphic reconstruction and interpretation, to establish models for understanding Classic Maya social and political life.

This guidebook by Maria Fiallos is the best coverage of Honduras available. All the dive sites, all the restaurants, and all the hotels from budget to luxury. The author is a real expert, and the information is fresh and complete. -- Melanie, Amazon revieweraa A great new resource --Travel + Leisureaa Bursting with relevant and exciting information... -- Booklistaaa These useful travel guides are highly recommended... -- Library Journalaaa Pristine coral reefs, tropical waters, rainforests, and rivers meandering through jungles wait to be explored. Parks cover 24% of the country's area, where jaguars and giant anteaters reside. Coastal wetlands are home to monkeys, manatees, alligators and waterfowl. This guide focuses on Copan and the surrounding area, called the Western Highlands. The ancient Maya ruins of Copan, a famed archaeological World Heritage Site, guard the secrets of the ancestors of the modern Mesoamerican men whose faces closely resemble those carved in stelae. The hieroglyphic stairway in Copan is the largest in the Maya world. Weekly open-air markets offer ripe mangos, oranges, bananas, avocados and tomatoes, adding charm and color to the country villages, where most people reside in whitewashed adobe houses with red tile roofs. This guide, by a lifelong resident, tells you everything about the history, the culture, the foods, how to get around, the recommended places to stay and eat, plus the activities and adventures, from cooking classes to monkey-spotting in the cloud forests. Honduras is just south of Belize and Guatemala, north of Costa Rica and Panama. Our guides on each of those countries have been strong sellers.aaa WHY VISIT HONDURAS? Great diving on the second-largest barrier reef in the world. The Maya ruins. 112 protected areas, parks and reserves. River rafting, kayaking, hiking, biking, horseback riding in the midst of exuberant tropical nature. The most protected cloud forests in the world, with 35 reserves. The Rio Platano Reserve of Man Biosphere, a UNESCO World Heritage site. La Moskitia, the largest rainforest region in Central America.aa"