The ancient Maya

Introduction -- Discovery and conquest by Europeans -- The fate of the Maya heritage -- The meaning of Maya civilization -- Foreign domination and rebirth of the Maya heritage -- The destruction of the Maya heritage -- 1. The setting of Maya civilization -- Natural and cultural subdivisions of the Maya Area -- The Pacific Coastal plain -- The highlands -- The lowlands -- The consequences of ecological diversity -- 2. Archaeology and Maya civilization -- Reconstructing the past -- Changing perspectives on the Maya past -- Models of past societies -- Development of complex society and civilization -- The evolution of civilizations -- Understanding the evolution of Maya civilization -- The Maya economy -- Maya social and political systems -- Maya ideology and religion -- The ancient Maya world -- Elite and nonelite views of the ancient Maya -- Chronology -- 3. History and Maya civilization -- Time and Maya history -- Numerals -- The calendar -- Measuring the cycles of time -- Recording the cycles of time -- Sources of Maya history -- The Maya chronicles -- Ancient writing systems -- Pre-Columbian Maya texts -- Ancient Maya writing -- Milestones in decipherment -- Contributions to understanding the ancient Maya -- History and Maya civilization -- 4. The origins of Maya civilization -- The chronology of pre-Columbian development -- The Archaic : origins of highland and coastal cultural traditions -- The Early Preclassic : agriculture, warfare, and evidence of complex society -- Preclassic developments on the Gulf Coast of Mexico -- Preclassic developments in highland Mexico --

Summary of Archaic and Early Preclassic developments -- Patterns in the evolution of Mesoamerican civilization -- 5. The emergence of Maya civilization in the Middle Preclassic -- The emergence of complex societies -- Markers of complex societies -- The Pacific plain in the Middle Preclassic -- Middle Preclassic commodities and monuments -- The highlands in the Middle Preclassic -- The lowlands in the Middle Preclassic -- Middle Preclassic communities -- The rise of complex society in the lowlands -- Further Middle Preclassic developments in the lowlands -- Summary : the Middle Preclassic precursors of Maya civilization -- 6. The origins of Maya states in the Late Preclassic -- Late Preclassic Maya civilization and writing traditions-- The Late Preclassic Isthmian tradition -- The Late Preclassic Southern Maya -- Highland-lowland interaction in the Preclassic -- The Maya lowlands in the Late Preclassic -- Patterns of Late Preclassic rulership -- Preclassic developments in the Northern lowlands -- Late Preclassic lowland Maya civilization -- Decline in the terminal Preclassic -- Summary : reconstructing the Maya Preclassic -- 7. The expansion of Maya states in the Early Classic -- The Early Classic and the origins of Maya civilization -- The Southern Maya area in the Classic Period -- The Classic transition in the lowlands -- The expansion of states in the Maya lowlands -- Competition and warfare in the Classic lowlands -- The Early Classic in the Maya lowlands -- The rise of Tikal in the Early Classic (ca. 100-378) -- Neighboring centers in the central lowlands (ca. 328-416) --

Strangers in the lowlands (378-456) -- Expansion into the Southeastern area (406-37) -- Archaeology, history, and Copan's Dynastic founding (ca. 400-470) -- The founder of Quirigua -- The rise of the Calakmul Dynasty (435-561) -- The Calakmul-Caracol alliance -- Prosperity and problems at Tikal (458-562) -- The defeat of Tikal (562) -- Summary : the Early Classic states of the Maya lowlands -- 8. The Apogee of Maya states in the Late Classic -- Ascendancy of Calakmul (562-695) -- The resurgence of Tikal (682-768) -- Rise and fall of the Petexbatun Kingdom (682-802) -- The end of the Calakmul Dynasty (695-909) -- Recovery and decline at Caracol (798-859) -- The end of the Tikal Dynasty (768-869) -- Expansion of the Usumacinta polities -- Expansion of the Western polities -- Expansion of the Southeastern polities -- Summary : development of states in the Late Classic lowlands -- 9. Transformations in the Terminal Classic -- Decline in the Classic heartland -- The downfall of Classic Maya states -- Explanations for the end of Maya states -- A scenario for the downfall of Classic Maya states -- Survival and revival of Classic enclaves -- Transformation in the Terminal Classic -- The transitional regional traditions -- The rise of the Northern lowland polities -- Polities in Northwestern Yucatan -- Polities in Northeastern Yucatan -- The rise of Chichen Itza -- The Itza economy -- The Itza state -- The cult of K'uk'ulkan -- Changes in the Southern Maya area -- Summary: culmination and transition in the Terminal Classic --

10. Reformulation and revival in the Postclassic -- The downfall of Chichen Itza -- The rise of Mayapan -- The Mayapan state -- The fall of Mayapan and the rise of petty states -- The East Coast of Yucatan -- Revival of fortunes in the Central lowlands -- The Southern Maya area in the Postclassic -- Summary : reformulation and revival in the Postclassic -- Overview : changing perspectives on Maya civilization -- 11. The ancient Maya economy -- The political economy -- The social economy -- Mobilization of labor -- Ancient Maya subsistence -- Reconstructing the patterns of subsistence -- Production of goods -- Distribution of goods -- The importance of trade -- Spatial and temporal patterns of long-distance trade -- 12. The organization of Maya society -- Reconstructing the social landscape -- Maya society in the Pre-Columbian ea -- Marriage and the family -- Ancient Maya households -- Settlement in the Maya lowlands -- Social stratification -- Residential and descent groups -- Residential groups and the house model --

Reconstructing the political landscape

Diving kings and the hierarchy of power

Maya polities

Cycles of growth and decline

State organizational models

The basis of political power

13. Maya ideology and religion

Maya world view

Origins of Maya ideology

Transformations by outsiders

Cosmology

Maya deities

Rituals and ceremonies

Royal rituals of the Classic Period

Ritual of the Postclassic and Conquest Periods

The ideological foundations of Maya Civilization

Epilogue. The conquest of the Maya

First contacts, 1502-25

The period of conquest, 1524-1697

The subjugation of the Southern Maya by Pedro de Alvarado, 1524-27

The subjugation of Yucatan by the Montejos, 1527-46

The independent Itza, 1525-1696

The subjugation of the Itza, 1696-97

Appendix. Dates for K'atun and Half-K'atun endings.