Motul de San José: Politics, History, and Economy in a Maya Polity (Maya Studies) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813061466 ISBN 13: 9780813061467

Publisher: University Press of Florida, 2015

Synopsis

“This volume is the first of its kind. A complex mosaic of how a relatively small Late Classic Maya polity was economically, socially, and politically organized. A must-read for all Maya scholars.”—James F. Garber, editor of The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley
“The editors have assembled a remarkable array of evidence, including several innovative analytical methods. The product is a synthetic model that will shape how we understand and study Classic Maya political economy for the next several decades.”—Jason Yaeger, editor of Classic Maya Provincial Politics
Scholars have long debated the nature of Maya political organization during the Classic period (AD 250–950). Complex questions regarding political centralization, economic change, and the role of politics and economics in the rise and collapse of the civilization have been examined and reexamined from a variety of perspectives. Antonia Foias and Kitty Emery have assembled a broad collection of essays all focused on a single polity, that of Motul de San José.

By presenting a coherent interdisciplinary body of archaeological and environmental data, the volume offers an intensely deep, focused investigation of the various models of the ancient Maya political and economic systems. Research conducted over six seasons of fieldwork reveals a more centralized political system than expected and uncovers the workings of the ancient economic structure. The contributors offer new details concerning how involved royals and nonroyal elites were in the politics of nearby states, as well as an extensive tribute system.
 

About this title

Book Description:

Scholars have long debated the nature of Maya political organization during the Classic period (AD 250–950). Complex questions regarding political centralization, economic change, and the role of politics and economics in the rise and collapse of the civilization have been examined and reexamined from a variety of perspectives. Antonia Foias and Kitty Emery have assembled a broad collection of essays all focused on a single polity, that of Motul de San José.

            By presenting a coherent interdisciplinary body of archaeological and environmental data, the volume offers an intensely deep, focused investigation of the various models of the ancient Maya political and economic systems. Research conducted over six seasons of fieldwork reveals a more centralized political system than expected and uncovers the workings of the ancient economic structure. The contributors offer new details concerning how involved royals and nonroyal elites were in the politics of nearby states, as well as an extensive tribute system.

About the Author:

Antonia E. Foias, professor of anthropology at Williams College, is the author of Ceramics, Production, and Exchange in the Petexbatun Region: The Economic Parameters of the Classic Maya Collapse. Kitty F. Emery is assistant curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History and associate professor at the University of Florida.

About this edition

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0813061466
• ISBN 13: 9780813061467
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 552
• Editor: Foias Antonia E., Emery Kitty F.