The reader faces deadly dangers as a writer on assignment in Mexico to explore the ruins of the Mayan Indians and solve the mystery of why the ancient civilization collapsed.

This comprehensive and accessible reference explores the greatest and most mysterious of civilizations, hailed for its contributions to science, mathematics, and technology. Each chapter is supplemented by an extensive bibliography as well as photos, original line drawings, and maps.

Nowadays, archaeological investigators don't just dig up the past They use high-tech equipment, chemical analyses, sampling strategies, and other modern means to gain a better understanding of why and how cultures change. Using the study of the Maya as a test case, Jeremy Sabloff shows how the exciting transformation of archaeology is shedding new light on past civilizations.

Ancient Maya comes to life in this new holistic and theoretical study.

Ancient Maya Political Economies examines variation in systems of economic production and exchange and how these systems supported the power networks that integrated Maya society. Using models originally developed by William L. Rathje, the authors explore core-periphery relations, the use of household analysis to reconstruct political economy, and evidence for market development. In doing so, they challenge the conventional wisdom of decentralized Maya political authority and replace it with a more complex view of the political economic foundations of Maya civilization.

Ancient Maya civilization thrived in the tropics of Central America for more than a thousand years and produced some of the world's finest architecture and art. Then it mysteriously vanished, leaving a landscape of ruins smothered by forests. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the great puzzles of history, ranking alongside the Fall of Rome as an enigma that has intrigued scholars for generations.