Lightning Warrior: Maya art and kingship at Quirigua by Matthew G. Looper, University of Texas Press,$50, ISBN 0292705565 Reviewed by Nick Saunders
CLASSIC Maya civilisation flourished in the tropical rainforests of Meso-America between about AD 250 and AD 800. One of its defining features was a glyphic writing system that, together with elaborate art, marked the passage of time, and recorded the names of ruling dynasties and the historical events they acted out.
In Lightning Warrior, Matthew Looper investigates a mysterious paradox – the small Maya city of Quirigua that defeated a much larger neighbour, escaped retribution, then created…
