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Examining changes to the institution of divine kingship from 750 to
950 CE in the Maya lowland cities, Maya Kingship presents a new way
of studying the collapse of that civilization and the
transformation of political systems between the Terminal Classic
and Postclassic Periods.Leading experts in Maya studies offer
insights into the breakdown of kingship regimes, as well as the
gradual urban collapse and settlement relocations that followed.
The volume illuminates historical factors and actions that led to
the end of the institution across kingdoms and the mechanisms that
enabled societies to eventually recover with new political
structures. Contributors provide archaeological, iconographic,
epigraphic, and ethnohistorical perspectives, exploring datasets in
the spheres of warfare, social dynamics, economics, and
architecture. Unfolding with precision the chains of processes and
events that occurred during the ninth and tenth centuries in the
southern lowlands, and slightly later in the north, this volume
displays an original and ambitious historical approach central to
understanding one of the most radical political shifts to occur in
the pre-Columbian Americas.
Different Times? Archaeological and environmental data from
intra-site and off-site sequences brings together seven papers from
Session II-8 of the XVIII UISPP Congress (Paris, 4-9 June 2018).
The session questioned temporal correlations between intra-site and
off-site data in archaeology-related contexts. The word 'site'
describes here archaeological sites or groups of sites - usually
settlements - that have undergone research in recent years and
produced information on the duration and timing of human presence.
Comparison with evidence from geomorphological and
paleoenvironmental research conducted at various distances from
settlements gives some interesting results, such as 'missing'
occupation periods, distortions in human presence intensity through
space as well as time, variability in explanations concerning the
abandonment of settlements, etc. Examples presented here highlight:
first, discrepancies between time records within built areas used
for living and the surrounding lands used for other activities
(cultivation, herding, travelling, etc); second, discrepancies
produced by the use of different 'time markers' (ie.
chronostratigraphy of archaeological layers or pottery evolution on
the one hand, sedimentary or pollen sequences on the other hand).
Although improving the resolution of individual data is essential,
the authors argue that the joint and detailed examination of
evidence produced together by human and natural scientists is more
important for reaching a reliable reconstruction of past people's
activities. Both the session and the volume stem from the Working
Group 'Environmental and Social Changes in the Past' (Changements
environnementaux et societes dans le passe) in the research
framework of the Cluster of Excellence 'Dynamite' (Territorial and
Spatial Dynamics) of the University Paris 1-Pantheon-Sorbonne
(ANR-11-LABX-0046, Investissements d'Avenir).
This detailed study of Mayan archaeology in the Campeche region of
Mexico is based on an extensive catalogue of surveys and
excavations mostly conducted during the latter part of the 20th
century. Initially, Nondedeo presents an overview of the geology
and geography of the region before discussing the methodologies of
recent or current projects. This is followed by two catalogues or
gazetteers of sites; the former focuses on one area,
Balamku-Nadzca'an, while the latter widens the field. An
interpretative discussion concludes the volume. Excavation areas,
structures and finds are illustrated. French text.
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