New insights from the Tikal excavations and epigraphic breakthroughs suggest that a thriving marketplace existed in the center of the city, that foreigners comprised a significant element of its populace, and that differences in tomb form and contents signal the changing fortunes of Tikal's rulers. Essay topics include the timing of the foundation of the Tikal dynasty, the earliest experiments in socio-political complexity, the 6th-7th century hiatus in monument erection, the reassertion of central authority around A.D. 700, and the complex causality behind the collapse and depopulation during the 9th century. Featuring some of the premiere specialists in the field as well as innovative new scholars, this volume promises to shape Tikal's interpretations and research agenda for decades to come.

Archaeology is perceived to study the people of long ago and far away. How could archaeology matter in the modern world? Well-known archaeologist Jeremy Sabloff points to ways in which archaeology might be important to the understanding and amelioration of contemporary problems. Though archaeologists have commonly been associated with efforts to uncover cultural identity, to restore the past of underrepresented peoples, and to preserve historical sites, their knowledge and skills can be used in many other ways. Archaeologists help Peruvian farmers increase crop yields, aid city planners in reducing landfills, and guide local communities in tourism development and water management. This brief volume, aimed at students and other prospective archaeologists, challenges the field to go beyond merely understanding the past and actively engage in making a difference in the today's world.

An attempt to render Chinese archaeology more accessible to Western readers through a detailed case study of approximately 16,000 years of cultural development in northeastern China. The author addresses prehistoric sociopolitical processes in the Dongbei region through an analysis of both his and other researchers' field data and demonstrates the potential contribution of conducting archaeological research into anthropology-related issues in China.

Cities are so common today that we cannot imagine a world without them. More than half of the world's population lives in cities, and that proportion is growing. Yet for most of our history, there were no cities. Why, how, and when did urban life begin? Ancient cities have much to tell us about the social, political, religious, and economic conditions of their times-and also about our own. Ongoing excavations all over the world are enabling scholars to document intra-city changes through time, city-to-city interaction, and changing relations between cities and their hinterlands. The essays in this volume-presented at a Sackler colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences-reveal that archaeologists now know much more about the founding and functions of ancient cities, their diverse trade networks, their heterogeneous plans and layouts, and their various lifespans and trajectories.

Seibal is a major ruin of the southern Maya lowlands, its vast ceremonial center covering several high hills on the banks of the Pasion River in the Guatemalan Department of Peten. In five volumes published over a 15-year period, the archaeological team headed by Gordon R. Willey presents a comprehensive review of their fieldwork from 1964 to 1968 and the results of many years of subsequent data analysis. The volumes also report on explorations in the peripheral settlements outside of the Seibal center and provide a regional view of the evolution of lowland Maya culture from the Middle and Late Preclassic through the Late Classic periods.

An attempt to render Chinese archaeology more accessible to Western readers through a detailed case study of approximately 16,000 years of cultural development in northeastern China. The author addresses prehistoric sociopolitical processes in the Dongbei region through an analysis of both his and other researchers' field data and demonstrates the potential contribution of conducting archaeological research into anthropology-related issues in China.

Aims to clarify the reasons for using systems models and computer simulations in seeking to understand dynamic cultural patterns. Computer simulations grow logically out of the steps taken by archaeology in the past century: from random data collection to cultural description, proceeding through chronological ordering to interest in process, and finally to systems construction. The chapters cover simulations within the framework of four case studies, from site abandonment in Wetherill Mesa, Colorado, to urban growth and decay in ancient Rome; from hunting and gathering to agriculture, and from feudalism to capitalism. The contributors use critical mathematical tools to describe cultural processes, construct and evaluate simulation models, and explore the potential of archaeology's unique data in the study of long-term cultural change.

The sixteen-volume Handbook of Middle American Indians, completed in 1976, has been acclaimed the world over as the most valuable resource ever produced for those involved in the study of Mesoamerica. When it was determined in 1978 that the Handbook should be updated periodically, Victoria Reifler Bricker, well-known cultural anthropologist, was selected to be series editor. This first volume of the Supplement is devoted to the dramatic changes that have taken place in the field of archaeology. The volume editor, Jeremy A. Sabloff, has gathered together detailed reports from the directors of many of the most significant archaeological projects of the mid-twentieth century in Mesoamerica, along with discussions of three topics of general interest (the rise of sedentary life, the evolution of complex culture, and the rise of cities).

"Gauging the impact of one scholar's contributions to modern archaeology"

For an appreciation of the growth of American archaeology over the second half of the twentieth century, one need look no further than the career of Gordon R. Willey. A preeminent archaeologist and New World theorist, Willey made innumerable contributions to the prehistory of the Americas and helped establish the leading methodological and theoretical paradigm used in American archaeology.

This volume of original essays gauges the wide-ranging impact of Willey's lifework. The editors have selected ten of his key publications and solicited assessments of their lasting influence from well-known archaeologists. These works cut across geographic regions and areas of inquiry and represent some of the most challenging intellectual questions in archaeology, explaining Willey's methods while revealing how greatly his work shaped the field.

The articles reflect the importance of Willey's research in coastal Peru in developing the field of Andean archaeology, and show how his application of the settlement pattern approach to the Belize Valley forever transformed the archaeology of Mesoamerica.

This volume not only analyzes Willey's impact on culture history and archaeological thought but also shows his human side, places his writing in historical context, and offers a unique overview of the growth of American archaeology over the past six decades. To understand the work of Gordon R. Willey is to understand the history and future direction of American archaeology.