The Ancient Maya of Mexico

by Braswell,Geoffrey E.

• ISBN13: 9781908049315
• ISBN10: 1908049316
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-08-20
• Publisher: Acumen Pub Ltd

Summary

Mayan culture is known for its spectacular art, impressive architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems, the archaeological study of which has undergone a revolution during the past twenty years. There are now more than 5,000 different Maya archaeological sites and those in Mexico's Yucatan Pensinsula are among the most visited and studied as they include the spectacular sites of Chichen Itza and Uxmal. The Ancient Maya of Mexico presents the results of these new and important archaeological, epigraphic, and art historical studies in the Mexican states of Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo to a broad audience of scholars and students. The volume consists of original and timely contributions by experts whose presentations are intended to be lively and approachable so as to be accessible and of particular use to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as to more advanced scholars. The organization of the volume is chronological (from the Middle Preclassic to colonial and modern periods), so that readers will understand how new data and interpretations have changed the whole of our understanding of Maya history.

Author Biography

Geoffrey E. Braswell is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. ix
List of Figures	p. xi
List of Tables	p. xiv
The Ancient Maya of Mexico: Reinterpreting the Past of the Northern Maya Lowlands	p. 1
The Preclassic Period
The Origins of the Mesoamerican Ballgame: A New Perspective from the Northern Maya Lowlands	p. 43
The Architecture of Power and Sociopolitical Complexity in Northwestern Yucatan during the Preclassic Period	p. 65
Maya Political Cycling and the Story of the Kaan Polity	p. 88
The Early and Late Classic Periods
Urbanism, Architecture, and Internationalism in the Northern Lowlands during the Early Classic	p. 119
The Political and Economic Organization of Late Classic States in the Peninsular Gulf Coast: The View from Champoton, Campeche	p. 143
5,000 Sites and Counting: The Inspiration of Maya Settlement Studies	p. 170
The Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic Periods
The Nunnery Quadrangle of Uxmal	p. 191
In the Shadow of the Pyramid: Excavations of the Great Platform of Chichen Itza	p. 229
Divide and Rule: Interpreting Site Perimeter Walls in the Northern Maya Lowlands and Beyond	p. 264
The Late Postclassic to Historical Periods
Rain and Fertility Rituals in Postclassic Yucatan Featuring Chaak and Chak Chel	p. 285
Poor Mayapan	p. 306
Maya Collapse or Resilience? Lessons from the Spanish Conquest and the Caste War of Yucatan	p. 325
Conclusions
Yucatan at the Crossroads	p. 349
Index	p. 373
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