Description |
1 online resource (xxi, 520 pages) : illustrations, maps |
Contents |
1. Introduction : the questions -- pt. I Agendas in classic Maya politics -- 2. Modelling the Maya -- 3. On archaeopolitics -- 4. Worlds in words -- pt. II Epigraphic data on classic Maya politics -- 5. Identity -- 6. Constitution -- 7. Transcendence -- 8. Matrimony -- 9. Conflict -- 10. Hierarchy -- 11. Coda -- pt. III A political anthropology for the classic Maya -- 12. Classic Maya networks -- 13. Defining classic Maya political culture -- 14. Hegemony in practice and theory -- 15. Summary and conclusions : a society of kings |
Summary |
"The Classic Maya have long presented scholars with vexing problems. One of the longest running and most contested of these, and the source of deeply polarized interpretations, has been their political organization. Using recently deciphered inscriptions and fresh archaeological finds, Simon Martin argues that this particular debate can be laid to rest. He offers a comprehensive re-analysis of the issue in an effort to answer a simple question: how did a multitude of small kingdoms survive for some six hundred years without being subsumed within larger states or empires? Using previously unexploited comparative and theoretical approaches, Martin suggests mechanisms that maintained a "dynamic equilibrium" within a system best understood not as array of individual polities but an interactive whole. With its rebirth as text-backed historical archaeology, Maya studies has entered a new phase, one capable of building a political anthropology as robust as any other we have for the ancient world"-- Provided by publisher |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from resource home page (Cambridge University Press, viewed September 8, 2022) |
Subject |
Mayas -- Politics and government
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Inscriptions, Mayan.
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Mayas -- Antiquities.
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Archaeology and history -- Mexico
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Archaeology and history -- Central America
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Archaeology and history
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Inscriptions, Mayan
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Mayas -- Antiquities
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Mayas -- Politics and government
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Central America
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Mexico
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Form |
Electronic book
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LC no. |
2019036963 |
ISBN |
9781108676694 |
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1108676693 |
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9781108483889 |
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1108483887 |
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