Building an Archaeology of Maya Urbanism : Planning and Flexibility in the American Tropics

Building an Archaeology of Maya Urbanism tears down entrenched misconceptions of Maya cities to build a new archaeology of Maya urbanism by highlighting the residential dynamics that underwrote one of the most famous and debated civilizations of the ancient Americas. Exploring the diverse yet interrelated agents and processes that modified Maya urban landscapes over time, this volume highlights the adaptive flexibility of urbanization in the tropical Maya lowlands. Integrating recent lidar survey data with more traditional excavation and artifact-based archaeological practices, chapters in this volume offer broadened perspectives on the patterns of Maya urban design and planning by viewing bottom-up and self-organizing processes as integral to the form, development, and dissolution of Classic lowland cities alongside potentially centralized civic designs. Full of innovative examples of how to build an archaeology of urbanism that can be applied not just to the lowland Maya and across the region, Building an Archaeology of Maya Urbanism simultaneously improves interpretations of lowland Maya culture history and contributes to empirical and comparative discussions of tropical, non-Western cities worldwide. Contributors: Divina Perla Barrera, Arianna Campiani, Cyril Castanet, Adrian S. Z. Chase, Lydie Dussol, Sara Dzul Góngora, Keith Eppich, Thomas Garrison, María Rocio González de la Mata, Timothy Hare, Julien Hiquet, Takeshi Inomata, Eva Lemonnier, José Francisco Osorio León, Marilyn Masson, Elsa Damaris Menéndez, Timothy Murtha, Philippe Nondédéo, Keith M. Prufer, Louise Purdue, Francisco Pérez Ruíz, Julien Sion, Travis Stanton, Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo, Karl A. Taube, Marc Testé, Amy E. Thompson, Daniela Triadan Building an Archaeology of Maya Urbanism tears downentrenched misconceptions of Maya cities to build a new archaeologyof Maya urbanism by highlighting the residential dynamics thatunderwrote one of the most famous and debated civilizations of theancient Americas. Exploring the diverse yet interrelated agents andprocesses that modified Maya urban landscapes over time, thisvolume highlights the adaptive flexibility of urbanization in thetropical Maya lowlands. Integrating recent lidar survey data withmore traditional excavation and artifact-based archaeologicalpractices, chapters in this volume offer broadened perspectives onthe patterns of Maya urban design and planning by viewing bottom-upand self-organizing processes as integral to the form, development,and dissolution of Classic lowland cities alongside potentiallycentralized civic designs. Full of innovative examples of how tobuild an archaeology of urbanism that can be applied not just tothe lowland Maya and across the region, Building an Archaeologyof Maya Urbanism simultaneously improves interpretations oflowland Maya culture history and contributes to empirical andcomparative discussions of tropical, non-Western cities worldwide.Contributors: Divina Perla Barrera, Arianna Campiani, CyrilCastanet, Adrian S. Z. Chase, Lydie Dussol, Sara Dzul Góngora,Keith Eppich, Thomas Garrison, María Rocio González de la Mata,Timothy Hare, Julien Hiquet, Takeshi Inomata, Eva Lemonnier, JoséFrancisco Osorio León, Marilyn Masson, Elsa Damaris Menéndez,Timothy Murtha, Philippe Nondédéo, Keith M. Prufer, Louise Purdue,Francisco Pérez Ruíz, Julien Sion, Travis Stanton, Rodrigo LiendoStuardo, Karl A. Taube, Marc Testé, Amy E. Thompson, DanielaTriadan "Building an Archaeology of Maya Urbanism tears down misconceptions of Maya cities, building a new archaeology of Maya urbanism, highlighting the dynamics of an ancient civilization of the Americas. Exploring agents and processes that modified Maya urban landscapes, this volume highlights the flexibility of urbanization in the Maya lowlands"-- Provided by publisher