Theresa Danley, EFFIGY 

If you enjoyed Death Book and reading a mystery about MesoAmerican Archaeology, check out the upcoming (May 2010) Whiskey Creek release Effigy  by Theresa Danley.

Archaeologists Anthony Peet and Lori Dewson (Vinny Alfano heard them speak at a Tulane University conference!) attempt the recovery of a priceless artifact stolen from the University of Utah.  They assemble an odd rescue crew to seek clues hidden within the Aztec sunstone, mystical Toltec Pyramids and astronomical calendar rounds to find the priceless effigy of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. But beware -  a sadistic murderer selects one of them as the next human sacrifice!

Related Scholarly Books:

Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, trans. Dennis Tedlock, rev. ed. (NY: Simon & Schuster, 1996). 

Michael D. Coe, The Maya(New York: Thames & Hudson, 2005).

Linda Schele and David Freidel, Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya (New York: HarperCollins, 1992). 

(Above: "Cham-mi" glyph - death or to die)

In the meantime, please send me any comments or questions via e-mail to:

anthonybeninati@deathbook2012.com

Above: Zotz or Sotz, the bat. Copán is often called ‘Place of the Bat People’ because this glyph frequently appears on the stone monuments, the stelae.

Another name for the Maya city is Xukpi, a Maya site emblem that seems to mean ‘Corner Bundle’ or ‘Summit’. 

This may owe to Copán's position at the southeastern part of the Maya World, or closest to the sunrise.  The glyph is also sometimes translated as the name of the Mot-Mot, a beautiful tropical turquoise and green bird found throughout Central America.

Copán, a later name for the site, likely comes from the Mexican Nahuatl language of Aztec natives who accompanied the Spanish Conquistadors to the area. ‘Copántl’ means bridge in that language.