The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands
Collapse, Transition, and Transformation
Published on 25. July 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
677 pages
978-0-87081-822-6 (ISBN)
Description
The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands revisits one of the great problems in Mayan archaeology - the apparent collapse of Classic Maya civilization from roughly A.D. 830 to 950. During this period the Maya abandoned their power centers in the southern lowlands and rather abruptly ceased the distinctive cultural practices that marked their apogee in the Classic period. Archaeological fieldwork during the past three decades, however, has uncovered enormous regional variability in the ways the Maya experienced the shift from Classic to Postclassic society, revealing a period of cultural change more complex than acknowledged by traditional models.Featuring an impressive roster of scholars, The Terminal Classic presents the most recent data and interpretations pertaining to this perplexing period of cultural transformation in the Maya lowlands. Although the research reveals clear interregional patterns, the contributors resist a single overarching explanation. Rather, this volume's diverse and nuanced interpretations provide a new, more properly grounded beginning for continued debate on the nature of lowland Terminal Classic Maya civilization.
Reviews / Votes
"Detailed, comprehensive, and rightly labeled as a 'landmark' publication . . . [The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands] can be favorably compared to Culbert's (1973) volume on the collapse. It will become the new baseline study on this crucial time period. . . . The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands will prove to be an invaluable scholarly resource for not only Maya and Mesoamerican archaeologists but also for anyone intersted in the complexities of cultural devolution and decline."-American Anthropologist "... [T]he latest word on the Maya collapse, seen from the perspective of fifty-two well-known and active archaeologists. This is a big book and an important one...The book is significant for at least three reasons. First, the empirical data are important. Second, those data make it clear that no single cause can explain the complicated cultural-historical pattern of collapse, which extended over several centuries and diverse environments. The editors and many of the authors energetically and effectively argue that neither climate change nor ecological collapse can explain the bulk of the data. This volume is a timely and convincing refutation of the environmental explanations, especially drought, for the Maya collapse. Third, and less obviously, this book shows that more and better data do not necessarily resolve themselves into simple patterns."
-Ethnohistory
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Colorado
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 18 to 99 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
925 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-87081-822-6 (9780870818226)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Arthur A. Demarest | Prudence M. Rice | Don S. Rice
The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands
Collapse, Transition, and Transformation
Book
01/2004
University Press of Colorado
€73.22
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Arthur A. Demarest is the Ingram Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University.
Prudence M. Rice is Distinguished Professor Emerita in the Department of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. She has authored, edited, or coedited nineteen books.
Don S. Rice is associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Prudence M. Rice is Distinguished Professor Emerita in the Department of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. She has authored, edited, or coedited nineteen books.
Don S. Rice is associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Content
Contents 1. The Terminal Classic and the "Classic Maya Collapse" in Perspective. Prudence M. Rice, Arthur A. Demarest, and Don S. Rice... 1 2. Hermeneutics, Transitions, and Transformations in Classic to Postclassic Maya Society. Diane Z. Chase, Arlen F. Chase... 17 3. Terminal Classic-Period Lowland Ceramics. Prudence M. Rice and Donald Forsyth...; 43 4. The Last Hurrah: Continuity and Transformation at Seibal. Gair Tourtellot and Jason J. Gonzalez ... 78 5. Settlement and Late Classic Political Disintegration in the Petexbatun. Matt O'Mansky and Nicholas P. Dunning... 107 6. After the Maelstrom: The Classic Maya Collapse and the Terminal Classic in the Western Peten. Arthur A. Demarest... 132 7. Late Classic-to-Postclassic Transformation in the Peten Lakes Region, Guatemala. Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice... 161 8. Disaster in Sight: The Terminal Classic at Tikal and Uaxactun. Juan Antonio Valdes and Federico Fahsen... 183 9. Defining the Terminal Classic at Calakmul, Campeche. Geoffrey E. Braswell, Joel D. Gunn, Maria Del Rosario Dominguez Carrasco, William J. Folan, Laraine A. Fletcher, Abel Morales Lopez, And Michael D. Glascock... 210 10. Terminal Classic Settlement and Polity in the Mopan Valley, Peten, Guatemala. Juan Pedro Laporte... 253 11. Dating Copan Culture History: Implications for the Terminal Classic and the Collapse. David Webster, Anncorinne Freter, and Rebecca Storey... 291 12. Political Decentralization, Dynastic Collapse, and the Early Postclassic in the Urban Center of Copan, Honduras. William L. Fash, E. Wyllys Andrews, and T. Kam Manahan... 327 13. Out with a whimper: La Milpa in the Terminal Classic. Norman Hammond and Gair Tourtellot... 364 14. Commoner Sense: Late and Terminal Classic Social Strategies in the Xunantunich Area. Wendy Ashmore, Jason Yaeger, and Cynthia Robin... 379 15. Transformations, Periodicity, and Urban Development in the Three Rivers Region. R.E.W. Adams, H. R. Robichaux, Fred Valdez, Jr., Brett A. Houk, and Ruth Mathews... 408 16. Terminal Classic Status-Linked Ceramics and the Maya "Collapse:" De Facto Refuse at Caracol, Belize. Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase... 428 17. Maya Cultural Adaptations from the Terminal Classic to Postclassic Period at Lagoon Sites in Northern Belize as Reflected in Changing Ceramic Industries. Marilyn A. Masson and Shirley Boteler Mock... 454 18. Out of Sight: The Postclassic and Early Colonial Periods at Chau Hiix. Christopher R. Andres and K. Anne Pyburn... 490 19. High Times in the Hill Country: A Perspective from the Terminal Classic Puuc Region. Kelli Carmean, Nicholas Dunning, and Jeff Karl Kowalski... 516 20. The Rise and Fall of Terminal Classic Yaxuna, Yucatan, Mexico. Charles Suhler, Traci Ardren, David Freidel, Dave Johnstone... 551 21. The Decline of the East: The Classic-to-Postclassic Transition at Ek Balam, Yucatan. William M. Ringle, George J. Bey III, Tara Bond Freeman, Craig A. Hanson, Charles W. Houck, and J. Gregory Smith... 588 22. Chich'en Itza: Settlement and Hegemony during the Terminal Classic Period. Rafael Cobos Palma... 634 23. The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Assessing Collapses, Terminations, and Transformations. Arthur A. Demarest, Prudence M. Rice, and Don S. Rice... 667 References... 710; Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Mayas History, Mayas Politics and government, Mayas Antiquities, Social archaeology Central America, Demographic archaeology Central America, Central America Antiquities