Spirits of the jaguar : the natural history and ancient civilizations of the Caribbean and Central America

232 Pages·18.146 MB·English

by  Paul Reddish

ACCOMPANIES THE TV SERIES £7£7£7
OF THE
JAG U AR
Ip. ... .•
The natural history and
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE
Caribbean and Central America
PAUL REDDISH
fits of the Jaguar explores the natural
history of the Caribbean and Central America,
from their fiery birth to the present day.
One hundred and fifty million years ago.
Central America and the Caribbean did not
exist. As a result of the shifting of continental
plates, tropical islands and the isthmus travelled
from their origins in the Pacific to their current
resting place. Spirits of the Jaguar tracks this
epic journey, tell ing many tales of natural
adventure and describing exotic wildlife.
Humming birds and hurricanes, iguanas and ice
ages, parrots and pyrotechnics, all these and
more feature in the history of these most
colourful of areas.
Despite suffering some of the worst excesses
of colonization during their history, the
Caribbean and Central America continue to be
two of the richest and most exciting wildlife
habitats in the world, teeming with thousands
of unique species.
Any account of the two regions would be
incomplete without mention of the history of
their peoples. In the Caribbean the peaceful
Taino developed in isolation, while in Central
America nomadic bands of mammoth hunters
gradually evolved over the space of a few
millennia into the people of the Maya and
Aztec civilizations, two of the greatest cultures
in history. All three cultures were destroyed by
the arrival of European invaders, led by
Christopher Columbus.
Illustrated throughout with magnificent
photographs, this book accompanies the
television series Spirits, of the: Jaguar, It
provides a dramatic account of the creation of
the Caribbean Islands and Central America, the
wildlife of these two regions, and the history of
their early peoples/::
9
972 .801 RED
Reddish, Paul.
Spirits of the Jaguar
the natural history
and
1996. X
M PINE LIBRARY, FAIR LAWN, NJ
3 3400 09025983 2
Maurice M. Pine
Free Public Library
Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410
DEMCO

SPI UTS
OF THE
JAGUAR

SPIRITS
OF THE
JAGUAR
THE NATURAL HISTORY AND
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE
CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA
PAUL REDDISH
BBC BOOKS
MAURICE M. PINE
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY
FAIR LAWN, NEW JERSEY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This is, traditionally, the place to thank all concerned in the making of this book;
and this will be duly and gratefully done in the following paragraphs. But first I
wish to express my gratitude to all my friends, family and colleagues who have
put up with my ‘temporary madness’ during the writing of the book. Their
humour and patience with an ‘over-excited child’ dashing headlong from filming
to writing to editing and back to filming has been my salvation. These unnamed
saints know who they are; and to them goes my greatest thanks. Sanity may, or
may not, return.
This book has been written to accompany the television series of the same
name. I have been very lucky to have a talented and generous team. Mark Jacobs,
Sarah Byatt, Neil Lucas, Mark Flowers, Phil Savoie, Andrew Murray have all
worked to realize our dream of combining natural and cultural history. They have
been supported by Sue Storey, Fiona Marsh, Lynn Sinclair and Julia McDade.
Television is above all team work and to them all I express my gratitude.
This has been my first ‘bash’ at a book and I have been helped by the talents
of many people at BBC Books. Sheila Ableman was brave enough to ask me to
write; Martha Caute, Frances Abraham and Barbara Nash stoic enough to put up
with the rollercoaster ride to publication. This book is a product of all our efforts.
Books emerge slowly from snippets of stories, forgotten fragments of
information. In the slow process of shaping these, it is easy to overlook the
originator. I would like to acknowledge all the scientists whose work I have
mentioned here. It is their original research that has uncovered the remarkable
story of Central America and the Caribbean. Paul Reddish
This book accompanies the television series Spirits of the Jaguar, first broadcast in 1996.
The series was produced by the Natural History Unit, BBC Bristol
Series Producer: Paul Reddish Producer: Mark Jacobs
Published by BBC Books, a division of BBC Worldwide Limited,
Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 OTT
First published 1996 © Paul Reddish 1996
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
qii,%o i ISBN 0 563 38743 2
R£D Designed by DW Design London
Picture research by Frances Abraham Maps by Line & Line
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frame and London
Colour separations by Radstock Reproductions, Midsomer Norton
Jacket printed by Lawrence Allen Ltd., Weston-super-Mare
FRONTISPIECE: A male quetzal at the nest-hole reveals the full glory of its feathers.
CONTENTS
Introduction 6
Part I
The Nature of the Caribbean and Central America
Chapter 1: THE GREAT MYSTERY 18
Chapter 2: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY 30
Chapter 3: Joining the Cruise 46
Chapter 4: THE PARADISE ISLANDS 70
Chapter 5: THE UNITED CONTINENTS OF AMERICA 82
Part II
The People
Chapter 6: FROM FIRST ARRIVALS TO FIRST CIVILIZATION 102
Chapter 7: MYSTERIES OF THE MAYA 122
Chapter 8: THE TAINO - THE PEOPLE OF THE CARIBBEAN 146
Chapter 9: THE AZTECS ~ FROM DESERT TO EMPIRE 166
Part III
Five Hundred Years of Change
Chapter 10: EAST MEETS WEST 186
Chapter 11: THE STORY TODAY - THE HORRORS AND THE HOPE 210
Further Reading 220
Picture Credits 220
Index 221