Cheryl's Book Nook

About CHRONICLE OF THE MOUND BUILDERS Publication Date: October 29, 2012 CreateSpace Paperback; 416p ISBN-10: 1479206652 Archaeologist Dr. Angela Hunter discovers an ancient codex at a Mississippian Indian dig site in the St. Louis area. Knowing the Mississippians, or Mound Builders, had no written language, she is determined to solve the mystery of the 700-year-old, perfectly preserved codex. In the early 1300’s, an Aztec family is torn apart. A judge rebelling against the Aztec tradition of human sacrifice is cursed and escapes his enemies with his 12-year-old son. They travel from the Gulf of Mexico up the Mississippi River to settle in the thriving community of Migaduha, modern-day Cahokia Mounds, Illinois. Angela recognizes the symbols as Aztec pictograms and begins to translate the story. However, other forces also want the codex and will do anything to get it. Can she learn the secrets of the chronicle before the tragic events of the past are repeated to...

Review by Nancy A team of archaeologists finds a jar in middle Missouri, home of the Mississippian culture (aka the Mound Builders). Despite dreams that it might not be a good plan, Angela Hunter and her father, Peter, open the jar and find a talisman and a codex written primarily in pictographs. There are many people who want to get this codex for themselves or their ancestors but only one will prevail. Two tales are told here although both endings are the same. A tale of Angela, her teams of researchers and the Native American Society dedicated to keeping the codex and talisman from the world. The other tale is of the boy who wrote the codex: Tototl, son of Chipahua the judge, and his journey far from his homeland. This book was researched in depth and it is obvious the author knows Missouri, the many mounds to be found there and their historical significance. I enjoyed the book but had a bit of an issue with the two stories. I felt that the story of Tototl could have been s...