Maya political history - 
            Ellen E. Bell, Marcello A. Canuto & Robert J. Sharer (ed.). Understanding Early Classic Copan. xvii+439 pages, 135 figures, 14 colour photographs, 11 tables. 2004. Philadelphia (PA): University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology; 1-931707-51-0 hardback $59.95. - 
            Vernon L. Scarborough, Fred ValdezJr . & Nicholas Dunning (ed.). Heterarchy, political economy, and the ancient Maya: the Three Rivers region of the east-central Yucatán peninsula. xx+172 pages, 54 figures, 4 tables. 2003. Tucson (AZ): University of Arizona Press; 0-8165-2273-1 hardback $55. - 
            Matthew G. Looper. Lightning Warrior: Maya art and kingship at Quirigua. xi+265 pages, 241 figures, 12 tables. 2003. Austin (TX): University of Texas Press; 0-292-70556-5 hardback $59.95. - 
            Arthur A. Demarest, Prudence M. Rice & Don S. Rice (ed.). The Terminal Classic in the Maya lowlands: collapse, transition, and transformation. xix+676 pages, 125 figures, 27 tables. 2004. Boulder (CO): University Press of Colorado; 0-87081-739-6 hardback. - 
            C. Roger Nance, Stephen L. Whittington & Barbara E. Borg with George Guillemin & Sergio Rodas Manrique. Archaeology and ethnohistory of Iximché. xxiv+408 pages, 161 figures, 80 tables. 2003. Gainesville (FL): University Press of Florida; 0-8130-2633-4 hardback $65.

AbstractResearch at the ancient Maya city of Yaxuna, located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, has provided sufficient data to suggest a preliminary chronological framework for the cultural development of this large polity. Primary ceramic and stratigraphie data are presented to support a five-phase scheme of cultural history, encompassing the Middle Formative through Postclassic periods (500 b.c.–a.d. 1250). In addition to chronological significance, the political ramifications of a pan-lowland ceramic trade are addressed. Yaxuna experienced an early florescence in the Late Formative–Early Classic periods, when it was the largest urban center in the central peninsula. A second renaissance in the Terminal Classic period was the result of Yaxuna's role in an alliance between the Puuc and Coba, in opposition to growing Itza militancy. This paper proposes a chronological framework for the cultural development of one northern Maya region in order to facilitate an understanding of this area as part of the overall history of polity interaction and competition in the Maya lowlands.

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Kenneth Pearce: The View from the Top of the Temple, Ancient Maya Civilization and Modern Maya Culture (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984, $24.95 cloth, $12.95 paper). Pp. xv + 273. - Sylvanus G. Morley/George W. Brainerd, revised by Robert J. Sharer: The Ancient Maya, fourth edition (Stanford University Press, 1983, $28.50). Pp. ix + 708. - B. L. TurnerII: Once Beneath the Forest, Prehistoric Terracing in the Río Bec Region of the Maya Lowlands (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, Dellplain Latin American Studies No. 13, Distributed by Bowker Publishing Company, Epping, Essex, England, 1983, £14.75). Pp. xv + 209. - B. L. TurnerII and Peter D. Harrison (eds.): Pulltrouser Swamp, Ancient Maya Habitat, Agriculture and Settlement in Northern Belize (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984, $22.50). Pp. xiii + 294.

Journal of Latin American Studies ◽

10.1017/s0022216x00007173 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 510-512

Author(s):

Warwick Bray

Keyword(s):

New Mexico ◽

Latin American ◽

American Studies ◽

Ancient Maya ◽

Latin American Studies ◽

Fourth Edition ◽

Maya Lowlands ◽

University Of Texas ◽

University Of New Mexico ◽

The Temple

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AN EARLY ROYAL MAYA TOMB FROM CHAN CHICH, BELIZE

Ancient Mesoamerica ◽

10.1017/s0956536110000301 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 229-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Brett A. Houk ◽

Hubert R. Robichaux ◽

Fred Valdez

Keyword(s):

Yucatan Peninsula ◽

Classic Period ◽

Cultural Changes ◽

East Central ◽

Yucatán Peninsula ◽

Three Rivers Region ◽

Archaeological Project ◽

Early Classic Period ◽

Three Rivers

AbstractIn 1997, the Chan Chich Archaeological Project excavated a Terminal Preclassic/Early Classic period Maya tomb at Chan Chich, Belize. Tomb 2 represents the earliest royal tomb in the Three Rivers Region of the east-central Yucatan Peninsula and has striking similarities to Burial 85 at Tikal, the tomb of the dynastic founder Yax Ehb' Xook. This paper describes Tomb 2 and its contents and considers its significance within the context of the significant political and cultural changes that marked the transition from the Late Preclassic to the Early Classic period. We argue that the tomb is an early example of a regional expression of elite competition for status and power in the Central Lowlands that included the use of a subcomplex of ceramics and exotic artifacts to express prestige. Tomb 2 is also an example of an early royal burial pattern that may be more widespread than believed but has been overlooked due to excavation bias.

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Classic to Postclassic at Ek Balam, Yucatan: Architectural and Ceramic Evidence for Defining the Transition

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/971654 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 237-254 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

George J. Bey ◽

Craig A. Hanson ◽

William M. Ringle

Keyword(s):

Yucatan Peninsula ◽

Complex Societies ◽

Ancient Maya ◽

General Study ◽

Late Classic ◽

Maya Lowlands ◽

Contemporary Debate ◽

Terminal Classic ◽

Yucatán Peninsula ◽

Ek Balam

The Classic-to-Postclassic transition in the Maya Lowlands is a focus of contemporary debate. At the site of Ek Balam, Yucatán, excavation of Structure GS-12 provided an architectural stratigraphy that spans this period. GS-12-sub was a Late Classic (Pure Florescent) building razed during the construction of GS-12-1, a C-shaped structure of a form generally identified with Postclassic occupations on the Yucatán Peninsula. At Ek Balam the building is associated with Cehpech-sphere ceramics and dated to the Terminal Classic. These data are in general agreement with the dating of such structures at other lowland sites including Uxmal. We contend that C-shaped structures, when found associated with Cehpech-sphere ceramics, are a horizon marker for the Terminal Classic-to-Postclassic transition on the Yucatán Peninsula, and that they illustrate the culture changes that occurred at this still poorly understood boundary. They may be the remains of administrative buildings used by the Maya following the cessation of monumental construction at major centers. Besides contributing to our understanding of the ancient Maya, the implications of this article extend to the general study of collapse and abandonment of complex societies.

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