Ancient Maya Politics: A Political Anthropology of the Classic Period 150–900 CE
2020/06/18 by Simon Martin · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Anthropological Studies and Insights #Latin American history and culture #Politics and Society in Latin America
paper · doi:10.1017/9781108676694
openalex publication_date 2020/06/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Abstract
The Classic Maya have long presented scholars with vexing problems. One of the longest running and most contested of these, and the source of deeply polarized interpretations, has been their political organization. Using recently deciphered inscriptions and fresh archaeological finds, Simon Martin argues that this particular debate can be laid to rest. He offers a comprehensive re-analysis of the issue in an effort to answer a simple question: how did a multitude of small kingdoms survive for some six hundred years without being subsumed within larger states or empires? Using previously unexploited comparative and theoretical approaches, Martin suggests mechanisms that maintained a 'dynamic equilibrium' within a system best understood not as an array of individual polities but an interactive whole. With its rebirth as text-backed historical archaeology, Maya studies has entered a new phase, one capable of building a political anthropology as robust as any other we have for the ancient world.
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