Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings - (Maya and Mesoamerican Studies) by Gyles Iannone & Brett a Houk & Sonja A Schwake

About the Book

The contributors offer new insights into the Maya "collapse," evaluating the trope of the scapegoat king and the demise of the traditional institution of kingship in the early ninth century AD--a time of intense environmental, economic, social, political, and even ideological change.

Book Synopsis

Maya kings who failed to ensure the prosperity of their kingdoms were subject to various forms of termination, including the ritual defacing and destruction of monuments and even violent death. This is the first comprehensive volume to focus on the varied responses to the failure of Classic period dynasties in the southern lowlands. The contributors offer new insights into the Maya "collapse," evaluating the trope of the scapegoat king and the demise of the traditional institution of kingship in the early ninth century AD--a time of intense environmental, economic, social, political, and even ideological change. Contributors: Palma J. Buttles Arthur A. Demarest Hector Escobedo David Freidel Charles Golden Thomas H. Guderjan C. Colleen Hanratty Eleanor Harrison-Buck Brett A. Houk Stephen D. Houston Gyles Iannone Takeshi Inomata Melanie Kingsley Olivia C. Navarro-Farr Claudia Quintanilla Andrew K. Scherer Sonja A. Schwake José Samuel Suasnavar Christopher Taylor Fred Valdez Jr. A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase

Review Quotes

"Much has been written about the successes of ancient Maya kings. . . . Much less studied have been their failures. . . . This volume focuses on the losses of kings' legitimacy to rule in the southern Maya lowlands. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice "Us[es] solid empirical data to address meaning, motivation and political action in the past."--Antiquity "A comprehensive look at kingship from a variety of site specific, ninth-century case examples. It is a worthy addition to the literature and will doubtless influence our thinking on the politics of the Terminal Classic."--Anthropos

About the Author

Gyles Iannone, professor of anthropology at Trent University, is the editor of The Great Maya Droughts in Cultural Context. Brett A. Houk, associate professor of anthropology at Texas Tech University, is the author of Ancient Maya Cities of the Eastern Lowlands. Sonja A. Schwake is lecturer in anthropology at Pennsylvania State University-Behrend College.