Originally published in 1914, this book introduces the history and cultures of pre-Spanish Mexico and the Maya civilizations. It was written by Thomas A. Joyce, a British anthropologist who led annual expeditions to excavate Mexico and Maya sites between the Tropic of Cancer and the northern strip of Honduras (now Belize).Joyce witnessed firsthand the discovery of some of the greatest Mayan sites visited by millions of travelers worldwide today. He became the go-to expert on American and African Anthropology at the British Museum before he became President of the Royal Anthropological Institute in 1931, where he remained until his death in 1942.