Ancient Maya : the rise and fall of a rainforest civilization
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Ancient Maya : the rise and fall of a rainforest civilization
(Case studies in early societies, 3)
Cambridge University Press, 2004
- : pbk
- : hbk
Available at 9 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 303-363) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In this new archaeological study, Arthur Demarest brings the lost pre-Columbian civilization of the Maya to life. In applying a holistic perspective to the most recent evidence from archaeology, paleoecology, and epigraphy, this theoretical interpretation emphasises both the brilliant rain forest adaptations of the ancient Maya and the Native American spirituality that permeated all aspects of their daily life. Demarest draws on his own discoveries and the findings of colleagues to reconstruct the complex lifeways and volatile political history of the Classic Maya states of the first to eighth centuries. He provides a new explanation of the long-standing mystery of the ninth-century abandonment of most of the great rain forest cities. Finally, he draws lessons from the history of the Classic Maya cities for contemporary society and for the ongoing struggles and resurgence of the modern Maya peoples, who are now re-emerging from six centuries of oppression.
Table of Contents
- 1. The mystery and the challenge of the Ancient Maya
- 2. Background: geography, chronology, and theoretical perspective
- 3. The exploration and archaeology of the Maya: a brief history
- 4. Obscure beginnings and the preclassic florescence
- 5. The splinter of classic Maya florescence in the lowlands
- 6. Settlement and subsistence: the rain forest adaptation
- 7. Classic Maya economics
- 8. Religion and ideology: beliefs and ritual of the theater state
- 9. Classic Maya politics and history: the dynamics of the theater state
- 10. The end of classic Maya civilization: collapse, transition, and transformation
- 11. The legacy of the classic Maya civilization: postclassic, colonial, and modern traditions
- 12. The lessons of Maya history and prehistory.
by "Nielsen BookData"