Indigenous languages of the Americas languages are among those used today. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name, and Mexico recognizes eight more. The Mayan language family is one of the best documented and most studied in the Americas. Modern Mayan languages descend from Proto-Mayan, a language thought to have been spoken at least 4,000 years ago; it has been partially reconstructed using the comparative method. Although both North and Central America are very diverse areas, South America has a linguistic diversity rivalled by
Fingerprints of the Gods is based on the idea that mainstream interpretations of archaeological evidence are flawed or incomplete. The book was followed by Magicians of the Gods, which became a New York Times best-seller. Hancock argues for a civilisation centred on Antarctica (which lay farther from the South Pole than today) and which supposedly left evidence (the "fingerprints" of the title) in Ancient Egypt and American civilisations such as the Olmec, Aztec and Maya. Hancock discusses: Hancock suggests that in 10,450 BC, a major pole shift took place, before which Antarctica lay farther from the South Pole than today, and after which it