Imperial Beach, California, United States
"2012: Science and Prophecy of the Ancient Maya" is a look at the archeology and science surrounding the apocalyptic "2012 Phenomenon". It is the most comprehensive and scientific look at what the Ancient Maya actually said about the subject, as well as investigation into their world view and how difficult it is for us modern Westerners to understand it. Yes, they were great astronomers --and astrologers. Yes, they were great mathematicians --and numerologists. Yes, they made dire prophecies, but one very important End-of-the-World event they totally missed: the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors. Pretty big omission; does not recommend their prophetic reliability very highly, eh? The book is also beautifully illustrated in full color; the *only* art-book you'll find in the entire "2012" corpus. Google Van Stone 2012
Tenured professor, teaching Introduction to Art/Art Appreciation, Art History Survey, Asian Art, Precolumbian Mesoamerican Art, and --my favorite-- The Art of Hieroglyphs. Part of the embattled-but-still-eminent University of California System, I am as proud of my department and my colleagues as I would be at any school. Despite all that has happened recently to degrade it, the California Community College is the best educational deal in the state...maybe the country. Wow, you'd think I was a cheerleader or something.