Much of what we currently know about the ancient Maya concerns the activities of the elites who ruled the societies and left records of their deeds carved on the monumental buildings and sculptures that remain as silent testimony to their power and status. But what do we know of the common folk who labored to build the temple complexes and palaces and grew the food that fed all of Maya society? This pathfinding book marshals a wide array of archaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence to offer the fullest understanding to date of the lifeways of ancient Maya commoners. Senior and emerging scholars contribute case studies that examine such aspects of commoner life as settlement patterns, household organization, and subsistence practices. Their reports cover most of the Maya area and the entire time span from Preclassic to Postclassic. This broad range of data helps resolve Maya commoners from a faceless mass into individual actors who successfully adapted to their social environment and who also held primary responsibility for producing the food and many other goods on which the whole Maya society depended.

Much of what we currently know about the ancient Maya concerns the activities of the elites who ruled the societies and left records of their deeds carved on the monumental buildings and sculptures that remain as silent testimony to their power and status. But what do we know of the common folk who labored to build the temple complexes and palaces and grew the food that fed all of Maya society? This pathfinding book marshals a wide array of archaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence to offer the fullest understanding to date of the lifeways of ancient Maya commoners. Senior and emerging scholars contribute case studies that examine such aspects of commoner life as settlement patterns, household organization, and subsistence practices. Their reports cover most of the Maya area and the entire time span from Preclassic to Postclassic. This broad range of data helps resolve Maya commoners from a faceless mass into individual actors who successfully adapted to their social environment and who also held primary responsibility for producing the food and many other goods on which the whole Maya society depended.

At its peak, the Maya civilization consisted of two million people populating over forty cities. While Europe languished in darkness after the fall of Rome, the Maya were advancing irrigation and terracing techniques in agriculture, pioneering the use of the zero in mathematics, and creating accurate astronomical tables. Yet, much about this great culture is unknown, as scholars struggle to decipher Mayan texts. This compelling volume examines the Maya civilization in accessible chapters with supplemental maps, timelines, and charts to support student research. Relevant topics discussed in this edition include the rise of the Mayans, the lives of the nobility and commoners during the classical period, achievements in science, engineering, and writing, the spirit realm and cosmology, and elements of Mayan culture in modernity.

What was life like in the days of the ancient Maya civilization? Where did people live and what did they do each day? These questions and more are answered in this fact-filled book about the daily life of the ancient Maya. Engaging text and primary sources shed light on the many mysteries of the Maya people. Color photographs of existing architecture and artifacts, as well as artwork, will transport readers back to the days when the Maya civilization was thriving. This exciting book is rich with information about Maya culture, and it’s sure to stoke readers’ imaginations while giving them a deep understanding of the history of this ancient civilization.

Though Mayan culture has existed for more than 3,500 years, researchers and historians have only recently started unlocking some of the mysteries behind this Central American society. Thoroughly researched text guides readers through the gripping history of the Maya, including a detailed description of Maya culture. The main text is supplemented with engaging sidebars, full-color photographs, historical images, and expert, annotated analysis from leading scholars.

The Mayans are remembered today for their beautiful pyramid temples. But this ancient civilization had many other innovations! This fact-filled title explores the underground reservoirs, rubber creations, and astronomy studies of ancient Maya. Engaging text and vivid images combine with special features such as profiles of gods and leaders, a cause and effect graphic, a time and place matrix, and a timeline to take readers on a journey to the past!

Research at the Northeast Group explores how the malleability of commoner identity is crucial to interpretations of ancient Maya society. This volume has two main aims: first to demonstrate how residents of the Northeast Group used materials and architecture to distinguish themselves from others in the neighborhood, and second to examine the implications of commoners as agents of history. Fundamental to this is the deconstruction of what archaeologists mean by commoner and the theoretical and methodological assumptions built into these definitions. Regardless of extensive research in settlement and household studies, interpretations of ancient Maya society continued to be framed with reference to elites. As elites are defined as the motor of change within civilization, commoners, in contrast, are characterized as static and passive. This books seeks to demonstrate that these models do not accurately reflect who commoners were and their impact in the construction of ancient Maya society as a whole.