Drawing on archaeological findings from the Maya lowlands, War Owl Falling shows how innovation and creativity led to social change in ancient societies. Markus Eberl discusses the ways eighth-century Maya (and Maya commoners in particular) reinvented objects and signs that were associated with nobility, including scepters, ceramic vessels, ballgame equipment, and the symbol of the owl. These inventions, he argues, reflect assertions of independence and a redistribution of power that contributed to the Maya collapse in the Late Classic period. Eberl emphasizes that individual decision-making - the ability to imagine alternate worlds and to act on that vision - plays a large role in changing social structure over time. Pinpointing where and when these Maya inventions emerged, how individuals adopted them and why, War Owl Falling connects technological and social change in a novel way.

Markus Eberl entwickelt ein umfangreiches Kaufverhaltensmodell, das den Einfluss der Unternehmensreputation auf das Preis- und Kaufverhalten untersucht, und berucksichtigt dabei auch Moderatoren und Mediatoren dieser Beziehung. Die psychologischen Wirkungen eines globalen Reputationsurteils konnen im Rahmen einer experimentellen Studie erstmals nachgewiesen werden.

Das Internet und insbesondere dessen kommerzielle Nutzung werden grossen Einfluss auf das private und offentliche Leben haben. Eine entscheidende Rolle bei der kommerziellen Weiterentwicklung haben elektronische Zahlungssysteme, die die Bezahlung von Waren und Dienstleistungen uber das globale Internet ermoglichen. Dieses Buch bietet einen Uberblick uber die derzeit verfugbaren Zahlungssysteme im Internet und die zukunftige Entwicklung in diesem Bereich. Der Leser wird schrittweise von der zugrundeliegenden Technik bis zur detaillierten Beschreibung der Zahlungssysteme im Internet gefuhrt. Neben den technischen Aspekten betrachtet das Buch auch rechtliche Probleme bei der Verwendung der vorgestellten Systeme, bewertet deren Marktchancen und stellt Kostenmodelle vor.

Through the use of sophisticated ceramic chronology techniques, the author documents how small farming communities like Nacimiento and Dos Ceibas grew from hamlets in the seventh century A.D. into villages with several hundred inhabitants. He traces how local elites emerged during the eighth century A.D. and built outsized residential groups.

Mutual exchanges in these villages leveled material wealth, but also translated into social status and legitimized social inequality. As settings for public rituals, these exchanges helped integrate the communities, while individual households conducted domestic rituals that included ancestor veneration, dedication offerings, and termination rituals.

The inhabitants of Aguateca's rural hinterland interacted on multiple levels within and beyond the boundaries of their communities. The economic, sociopolitical, and ritual changes during the Late Classic highlight the complexity and dynamism of local communities.

VIMA Series #8
Vanderbilt Institute of Mesoamerican Archaeology Studies Series, Edited by Arthur A. Demarest

The Watery Scroll rulers selected the ancient Maya site of Tamarindito as their capital. First settled around 300 BC, the site served as their seat from the fifth through the eighth century AD. After the collapse, people continued to live at Tamarindito for several generations. Archaeological investigations provide a comprehensive perspective on social dynamics and change in an ancient Maya capital.