Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World

by Lynn V. Foster, Peter Mathews

Overview

The ancient Mayan civilization of southern Mexico and northern Central America has long been described as "mysterious," even though scholars have been studying this culture for hundreds of years. Our view of the Maya has changed dramatically based on the various findings of these scholars; what were once thought of as "vacant ceremonial centers," inhabited by only a few calendar priests and used as places of ritual by the surrounding peasant farmers, have now been redefined as ancient thriving cities of thousands of Maya. Hierogliphic inscriptions, once thought to be astrological mumbo-jumbo, now read as names of historical individuals and the cities they ruled.
The Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World provides a comprehensive and accessible reference to the greatest and most mysterious of civilizations, hailed for its contributions to science, mathematics, and technology. The book focuses on recent groundbreaking discoveries while presenting the civilization's earlist beginnings to its conquest by the Spanish in the 16th Century. Each chapter is supplemented by an extensive bibliography as well as photographs. original line drawings, and maps. Different sections include civilization and archaeology, evolution, geography, society and government, astronomy and the calendar, funerary beliefs and customs, and many more,

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195183634
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/07/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	7.41(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Lynn V. Foster is an independent writer and scholar.

Peter Mathews is Professor of Archaeology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	vi
	Foreword	vii
	Introduction	xi
	List of Maps	xiii
	List of Illustrations	xiii
	List of Tables	xiv
1	Maya Civilization and Archaeology	1
	Developments in Maya Archaeology	5
	Source Materials	8
	Reading	13
2	Evolution of Maya Civilization	15
	Summary of Major Periods	17
	Lithic Period (c. 12,000-7000 B.C.E.)	18
	Archaic Period (c. 7,000-1200 B.C.E.)	19
	Early Preclassic Period (c. 1200-1000 B.C.E.)	23
	Middle Preclassic Period (c. 1000-300 B.C.E.)	29
	Late Preclassic Period (c. 300 B.C.E.-250 C.E.)	34
	Early Classic Period (c. 250-600)	43
	Late Classic Period (c. 600-900)	49
	Terminal Classic Period (c. 800-1000)	60
	Early Postclassic Period (c. 900-1200)	68
	Late Postclassic Period (c. 1200-1524)	72
	The Spanish Conquest to the Present	80
	Reading	85
3	Geography of the Pre-Columbian Maya	89
	Greater Mesoamerica	91
	Maya Geography and Mythology	91
	Maya Regional Diversity	92
	Changing Environment	97
	Geography and Civilization	99
	Settlements and Agricultural Beginnings	100
	Place-Names of Maya Cities	103
	Reading	116
4	Society and Government	117
	Chiefdoms vs. States	119
	Cities vs. Ceremonial Centers	119
	Sociopolitical Evolution of the Maya State	121
	City-States, Regional States, and Superpowers	127
	Classic Period Maya Rulership	134
	Postclassic Multepal Government	137
	Conclusion	139
	Reading	140
5	Warfare	141
	Ruler as Warrior	143
	The Military	144
	Kinds of Warfare	147
	War Tactics	150
	The Supernatural in War	155
	Reading	156
6	Religion, Cosmology, and Art	157
	The Structure of Cosmic Space	159
	The Identities of the Gods	163
	The Unfolding of Creation	171
	The Sacred City: An Example from Palenque	174
	The Role of Kings and Shamans	178
	The Sustenance of Life: Popol Vub	183
	The Purpose of Ritual Performance	187
	Conclusion	197
	Reading	197
7	Funerary Beliefs and Customs	201
	Souls and the Afterlife	203
	Burials	207
	Ancestor Worship and Legitimacy	211
	Reading	212
8	Architecture and Building	213
	Masonry Architecture and Labor	215
	Architectural Development	216
	Architectural Traits	218
	Temporal Stylistic Shifts	222
	Regional Variations	223
	Site Plans	226
	Cosmology, Politics, and Architecture	229
	Types of Construction	230
	Materials and Techniques	238
	Reading	243
9	Arithmetic, Astronomy, and the Calendar	245
	Cyclical History	247
	Maya Arithmetic	248
	Origins of the Calendar	250
	Cycles of Time	251
	The Long Count	255
	Other Cycles	259
	Astronomy	260
	Summary	262
	Reading	263
10	Written Evidence	265
	History of Maya Hieroglyphic Decipherment	267
	Mayan Languages and Writing	273
	Decipherment of Hieroglyphs	277
	Deciphered Hieroglyphs	281
	Inscriptions on Public Monuments	285
	Maya Vase Writing	293
	Name-Tagging and Ownership of Objects	295
	The Maya Codices	296
	Postconquest Literature	299
	Reading	304
11	Economy, Industry, and Trade	305
	Agriculture	307
	Other Food Production	311
	Craft Production	314
	Trade	319
	Reading	326
12	Daily Life	327
	Diversity of Population	329
	The Family	330
	Crimes and Punishment	332
	The Maya Household	333
	Food and Drink	335
	Medicine and Health	336
	Personal Appearance	337
	Entertainment	340
	Reading	342
	Chronological Chart	343
	Bibliography	347
	Index	367