The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives

✍ Scribed by Heather McKillop

Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Year: 2004
Tongue: English
Leaves: 472
Series: Understanding Ancient Civilizations
Category: Library

No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.

✦ Synopsis

Ranging from the end of the Ice Age to the flourishing of Mayan culture in the first millennium to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, The Ancient Maya takes a fresh look at a culture that has long held the public's imagination. Originally thought to be peaceful and spiritual, the Mayans are now also known to have been worldly, bureaucratic, and violent. Debates and unanswered questions linger.

Mayan expert Heather McKillop shows our current understanding of the Maya, explaining how interpretations of ''dirt archaeology,'' hieroglyphic inscriptions, and pictorial pottery are used to reconstruct the lives of royalty, artisans, priests, and common folk. She also describes the innovative focus on the interplay of the people with their environments that has helped further unravel the mystery of the Mayans' rise and fall.

✦ Table of Contents

The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
List of Maps......Page 12
Series Editor’s Preface......Page 14
Preface......Page 16
Acknowledgments......Page 18
PART I Introduction......Page 20
CHAPTER 1 Introduction......Page 22
PART 2 Maya Civilization......Page 46
CHAPTER 2 Location of Maya Area and Environmental Setting......Page 48
CHAPTER 3 Historical and Chronological Setting......Page 60
CHAPTER 4 Origins, Growth, and Decline of the Maya Civilization......Page 90
CHAPTER 5 Economics......Page 133
CHAPTER 6 Social Organization and Social Structure......Page 169
CHAPTER 7 Politics......Page 194
CHAPTER 8 Religion and Ideology......Page 223
CHAPTER 9 Material Culture......Page 248
CHAPTER 10 Intellectual Accomplishments......Page 295
PART 3 Current Assessments......Page 324
CHAPTER 11 Major Controversies and Future Directions in the Study of the Maya Civilization......Page 326
Glossary......Page 342
Chronology......Page 362
Resources for Further Study......Page 374
Index......Page 442
ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 472

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