Overview

Pathways to Complexity synthesizes a wealth of new archaeological data to illuminate the origins of Maya civilization and the rise of Classic Maya culture. In this volume, prominent Maya scholars argue that the development of social, religious, and economic complexity began during the Middle Preclassic period (1000–300 B.C.), hundreds of years earlier than previously thought.Contributors reveal that villages were present in parts of the lowlands by 1000 B.C., challenging the prevailing models estimating when civilization took root in the area. Combining recent discoveries from the northern lowlands—an area often neglected in other volumes—and the southern lowlands, the collection then traces the emergence of sociopolitical inequality and complexity in all parts of the Yucatan peninsula over the course of the Middle Preclassic period. They show that communities evolved in different ways due to influences such as geographical location, ceramic exchange, shell ornament production, agricultural strategy, religious ritual, ideology, and social rankings. These varied pathways to complexity developed over half a millennium and culminated in the institution of kingship by the Late Preclassic period.Presenting exciting work on a dynamic and poorly understood time period, Pathways to Complexity demonstrates the importance of a broad, comparative approach to understanding Preclassic Maya civilization and will serve as a foundation for future research and interpretation. Contributors: M. Kathryn Brown | George Bey III | Tara Bond-Freeman | Fernando Robles Castellanos | Tomas Gallareta Negron | E. Wyllys Andrews V | Anthony Andrews | David S. Anderson | Lauren Sullivan | Jaime J. Awe | James F. Garber | Mary Jane Acuña | William Saturno | Bobbi Hohmann | Terry Powis | Paul Healy | Richard Hansen | Donald W. Forsyth | David Freidel | Barbara Arroyo | Richard E. W. Adams

Full Product Details

Author:   M. Kathryn Brown ,  George J. Bey III
Publisher:   University Press of Florida
Imprint:   University Press of Florida
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.755kg
ISBN:  

9780813068503

ISBN 10:   0813068509
Pages:   526
Publication Date:   18 May 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents List of Figures List of Tables Foreword Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase 1. Introduction M. Kathryn Bey and George J. Bey III 2. The Paleo-American and Archaic Periods in Yucatan Anthony P. Andrews and Fernando Robles Castellanos 3. The Cunil Complex: Early Villages in Belize Lauren Sullivan, Jaime Awe, and M. Kathryn Brown 4. The Earliest Ceramics of the Northern Maya Lowlands E. Wyllys Andrews V, George J. Bey III, Christopher Gunn 5. The Role of Ideology, Religion, and Ritual in the Foundation of Social Complexity in the Belize River Valley M. Kathryn Brown, Jaime J. Awe, and James F. Garber 6. Middle Preclassic Maya Shell Ornament Production: Implications for the Development of Complexity at Pacbitun, Belize Bobbi Hohmann, Terry Powis and Paul Healy 7. Developmental Dynamics, Energetics, and Complex Economic Interactions of the Early Maya of the Mirador-Calakmul Basin, Guatemala and Campeche, Mexico Richard D. Hansen, Donald W. Forsyth, James C. Woods, Thomas Schreiner, and Gene L. Titmus 8. The Preclassic Settlement of Northwest Yucatan: Recharting the Pathway to Complexity David S. Anderson, Fernando Robles Castellanos, and Anthony P. Andrews 9. The Genesis of Maya Complexity in the Northwestern Region of the Yucatan Penisula Fernando Robles Castellanos and Teresa Ceballos Gallareta 10. The Preclassic Period: A View of Complexity in the Residential Settlement of Ek Balam Tara Bond-Freeman 11. At the Foot of the Hills: Early Monumentality at Xocnaceh, Yucatan, Mexico Tomás Gallareta Negrón 12. El Achiotal: An Interior Frontier Center in the Northwestern Petén, Guatemala Mary Jane Acuña 13. Changing Stages: Royal Legitimacy and the Architectural Development of the Pinturas Complex at San Bartolo, Guatemala William Saturno, Franco Rossi, and Boris Beltrán 14. Naranjo, Guatemala, A Middle Preclassic Site in the Central Highlands of Guatemala Barbara Arroyo 15. Maya and the Idea of Empire David Freidel 16. Conclusion: Charting the Pathways to Complexity in the Maya Lowlands M. Kathryn Brown and George J. Bey III References List of Contributors Index

Reviews

"Richly detailed. . . . Bring[s] together recent advancements in studies of the development of Maya civilisation."" - Antiquity"

An impressive conspectus of expertise spanning Maya fieldwork from the Valley of Guatemala to northern Yucatan. --Latin American Antiquity Richly detailed. . . . Bring[s] together recent advancements in studies of the development of Maya civilisation. --Antiquity

Richly detailed. . . . Bring[s] together recent advancements in studies of the development of Maya civilisation. - Antiquity

Richly detailed. . . . Bring[s] together recent advancements in studies of the development of Maya civilisation. --Antiquity

Author Information

M. Kathryn Brown, Lutcher Brown Endowed Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is coeditor of Ancient Mesoamerican Warfare. George J. Bey III, Chisholm Foundation Chair in Arts and Sciences at Millsaps College, is coeditor of Pottery Economics in Mesoamerica.

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