Product Description: The prevailing view of the lowland Maya during the Postclassic period (A.D. 1050-1500) has been one of an impoverished, "degenerated" society devoid of cultural accomplishment. However, Marilyn A. Masson offers a fresh interpretation of this society as one that represented a complex, sophisticated, extensive organization of semiautonomous units that were closely integrated, yet embraced a decentralized political economy...read more

Product Description: Kukulcan's Realm chronicles the fabric of socioeconomic relationships and religious practice that bound the Postclassic Maya city of Mayapán's urban residents together for nearly three centuries. Presenting results of ten years of household archaeology at the city, including field research and laboratory analysis, the book discusses the social, political, economic, and ideological makeup of this complex urban center...read more

Product Description: 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. Chapters in this book take a hard look at existing models of elite exchange and tribute and address the difficult question of how the flow of utilitarian goods supported Maya kingdoms and their ruling classes...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: The Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica: A Reader brings together twenty-three of the most influential essays by leading scholars to reveal the rich variety of cultures and societies that existed in ancient Mesoamerica.