Maya Pyramid (photo by Chris Dionne)
E. Chris Ambrose is the author of the Bone Guard archaeological thrillers, as well as a dark historical fantasy series about medieval surgery, among other things. In the process of researching her books, E.C. learned how to hunt with a falcon, clear a building of possible assailants, and pull traction on a broken limb. To find out more about her and her books, visit her website.
One of the most fun parts of writing archaeological thrillers is the chance to delve deeply into a particular place and time. For my forthcoming novel, The Maya Bust, that meant Guatemala. I wanted a region with a rich archaeological history, cenotes, and chocolate! (Yes, I got to split open a cacao pod and eat Guatemalan chocolate as part of my research for this one. I love my work!)
I started with a geological map showing where cenotes are present, since I knew I'd be using one in the book. Cenotes are underground caverns, accessible from the outside, that form as sinkholes in the limestone of the Yucatan and surrounding areas. They were sacred to the Maya people, who depended on them as a reliable source of water, and regarded them as the openings to Xibalba, the underworld, populated by dangerous gods, and often depicted as an open mouth gaping with teeth. Offerings and sacrifices were made within the caves, including human sacrifice. They held human life to be extremely important, and thus worthy of being offered to the gods to ensure the ongoing survival of the community at large. Blood forged a liquid connection to the rain and agricultural fertility they needed. Often, those sacrificed were warriors or nobles from competing regions—the worthiest of all. Nowadays, cenotes are popular as swimming and diving destinations, as well as rich archaeological sites.
As I dug deeper into the history of the area, including the more contemporary drug smuggling that forms the plot of the book, I zeroed in on the Alta Verapaz region in the Guatemalan highlands. This area was renamed by the Spanish explorers in their quest to subdue and convert the indigenous peoples. "Verapaz" means "truth peace," appellations that weren't applicable when the Spanish first arrived, and not for very long afterward. The region includes not only sacred cenotes and Maya architectural sites, but also Spanish colonial architecture, including beautiful Baroque-style churches and monasteries. Because of the jungle cover and difficulty of travel, much of the archaeology of the region remains unknown, concealed by centuries of growth.
Since mountains were also considered sacred as closer to the sky gods, Maya step-pyramids are designed to be artificial mountains. They usually had a temple on top, often with an altar for sacrifice, and sometimes an interior staircase leading down to a concealed entrance to Xibalba. Pyramids frequently contain royal burials, with painted murals, sculptures and offering plates to honor the dead. However, the Maya also had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, and used some structures as viewing platforms and observational markers for events like the rise and set of Venus, which suggested the best times for planting and harvest. Pyramids often have astronomical alinements, usually with the summer solstice. Here's a time-lapse video of the shadows cast on the Spring Equinox to look like the sacred serpent Kukulkan creeping down the stairs at Chichen Itza.
The link between mountains and pyramids makes the pyramids even harder to distinguish. New technology such as LIDAR allows archaeologists to perform non-invasive scans of the jungle that reveal artificial structures and patterns beneath the trees and accumulated debris, stripping back the new to find the extensive human intervention that allowed this region to sustain a population of hundreds of thousands at the height of the Maya empire around 900-1000 CE.
Even setting aside the chocolate, I really enjoyed researching this destination, and I hope I've managed to do it some justice in the book!
A Bone Guard Archaeological Thriller, Book 4
A secret stash, a hidden tomb, a father's love—sworn in blood
When his commander's estranged daughter vanishes in Guatemala, Grant Casey treks a deadly jungle and dives a sacred cenote to free her from a drug smuggler looking for a stash in an ancient pyramid.
Before his death in a rain of gunfire at her Quinceañeria, Raxha's druglord father encoded a map on a cacao cup, a map that might lead her to millions in drugs in the tomb of Maya royalty. A decade later, his old mistress gave the cup to some Americans to prevent Raxha from completing the delivery and re-establishing the influence of the deadly Zetas cartel. Determined to claim her father's legacy, kidnapping is only the beginning of a quest that may end with Raxha tearing out the heart of her enemy.
Awakened by a call from his old commander's ex, and sworn to secrecy about his rescue mission, Grant's integrity is torn. Does he betray his client's trust, or the man who hated him for so long, the man who risked his life to save Grant's own? He sets up for his CO to follow the clues while he tracks down Lexi's friends to find the cup—and only then finds out Lexi's boyfriend is missing, too. How complicated could this get? Oh, yeah, Lexi is deaf, the police are complicit, and their adversary keeps a pet jaguar. When the ransom exchange goes south, Grant embeds with the bad guys in a desperate attempt to rescue the victims before they become the latest blood sacrifice.
Releasing September 7th. Pre-order now.
