The Ancient Maya: Fifth EditionStanford University Press, 1994 - 892 pages The rich findings of recent exploration and research are incorporated in this completely revised and greatly expanded edition of the standard work on the New World's most brilliant civilization that of the Maya people of northern Central America and southern Mexico. From its shadowy beginnings centuries before Christ, the history of the Maya is traced through its periods of cultural growth, mysterious decline, renewed prosperity, and eventual downfall following the Spanish Conquest. Ever since the awesome remains of this civilization, which spanned some 2,000 years, were discovered in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the ancient Maya have attracted widespread fascination. Where had this civilization come from? How could the Maya have sustained themselves so successfully in such an inhospitable environment? What catastrophes had overwhelmed their long-abandoned cities? Today, scientific research in a variety of disciplines has made considerable progress in answering such questions. Still, the allure of the Maya persists. Part of this fascination undoubtedly derives from the romantic image of a "lost civilization" that left scores of ruined cities deep in the jungle. But the more we learn of the Maya, the deeper becomes our respect and admiration. For these were a people of astonishing achievement: in mathematics, astronomy, calendrics, an writing systems; in technology, political organization, an commerce; and in sculpture, painting, and architecture. Because of the veritable explosion of research on the Maya in recent years, we are for the first time beginning to understand the origins of the civilization and the reasons for both its flowering and its decline. New field discoveries, new technical advances, new successes in the decipherment of Maya writing, and new theoretical perspectives on the Maya past have made necessary this present edition of The Ancient Maya, which is more than one-fourth longer than the previous edition. |
Table des matières
The Setting | 19 |
The Origins of Maya Civilization | 44 |
The Preclassic Maya | 71 |
The Early Classic and the Rise of Tikal | 138 |
The Late Classic and the Expansion of | 211 |
CARACOL 211 The Decline of Tikal | 217 |
THE PETEXBATUN CAPITALS DOS PILAS | 271 |
The Early Rulers of Palenque 289 The Supernatural Basis of Power | 293 |
RECONSTRUCTING THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE | 491 |
Location and Power 492 Size and Power 493 Number and Size | 497 |
The Evolution of Social Systems 508 The Lowland Maya | 510 |
Arithmetic Calendrics and Astronomy | 556 |
Language and Writing | 582 |
Architecture Sculpture and Painting | 630 |
Artifacts | 674 |
The Spanish Conquest | 731 |
Recovery and Decline at Palenque 296 The Expansion of Polities | 336 |
The Postclassic | 384 |
Subsistence Systems | 435 |
Trade and External Contact | 452 |
The Organization of Maya Society | 464 |
Conversion Between Maya | 755 |
Bibliographic Summaries 765 Bibliography | 785 |
853 | |
Expressions et termes fréquents
Acropolis Ahau 13 Altar ancient Maya appears archaeological architectural Belize Bonampak buildings Calakmul calendar Campeche Caracol carved centers central lowlands ceramic ceremony Chac Chapter Chiapas Chichen Itza Classic Maya Classic period coast coastal Codex complex Conquest Copan Culbert deity dynastic Early Classic elite evidence excavations Freidel Group Guatemala hieroglyphic inscriptions Jaguar Kaminaljuyu Katun Landa Late Classic Late Postclassic Late Preclassic lineage Lintel Long Count date lords lowland Maya Maya civilization Maya lowlands Maya society Mayan Mayan languages Mayapan Mesoamerica Mexico Middle Preclassic Mirador monuments murals northern lowlands Olmec painted Palace Palenque Peten platform Plaza PMAE political population pottery probably Putun Puuc Quiche Quirigua record region Río ritual ruler Sabloff Schele sculpture Seibal settlement Sharer southern Maya area Spanish Stela stone structures Tayasal Temple Terminal Classic texts Tikal tomb trade traditional Uaxactun Uxmal Valley Willey Yaxchilan Yucatan Yucatec