Michel Marcel was born in Toulouse, France, in 1956. A man of wide-ranging intellectual interests and an insatiable curiosity about the human past, he drew equally on journalism -publishing travel chronicles and investigative features in various European outlets- and on the rigorous study of history, archaeology, comparative religion, and anthropology.
 
His fascination with the enigmas of pre-Columbian civilizations led him to leave Europe for a series of field expeditions that marked a turning point in both his life and his work. That immersion took him to Cuzco, Peru, where he lived for two years, and to Oaxaca, Mexico, for five more, sharing daily life with local communities and studying the archaeological remains of the Andes and Mesoamerica firsthand. He now lives in Paris once again, where he coordinates his research and publishing projects.
 
His first book, Sacred Enigmas of America, established his voice as a writer capable of fusing documentary rigor with historical mystery. Far from resting on the success of his debut, Marcel is currently preparing his second book, an ambitious work of investigation that will delve into the complex and somber subject of human sacrifice throughout history and within the world's diverse civilizations.