The Maya: A Very Short IntroductionOxford University Press, 2020 - 124 pages The Maya forged the greatest society in the history of the ancient Americas, and one of the great societies in human history. Long before contact with Europeans, Maya communities built spectacular cities, created complex agricultural systems, mastered the visual arts, and developed a sophisticated writing system that recorded extraordinary knowledge in calendrics, mathematics, and astronomy. All that was achieved without area-wide centralized control. For there was never a single, unified Maya state or empire, but always numerous, evolving ethnic groups speaking dozens of distinct Mayan languages. The people we call "Maya" never thought of themselves as such; so what was their self-identity and how did Maya civilization come to be "invented"? Yet something definable, unique, and endlessly fascinating-what we call Maya culture-has clearly existed for millennia. With the Maya subdivided in so many ways-geographical, linguistic, and chronological-the pursuit of what made the Maya "the Maya" is all the more important. In this Very Short Introduction, Restall and Solari explore the themes of Mayan self-identity, polity or city-state political culture, and cosmovision and the world beyond. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
Contents
Creating the Maya | 1 |
Maya genesis | 9 |
The divine king | 23 |
The writing rabbit | 43 |
A day in the life | 57 |
Conquests | 68 |
Colonizations | 87 |
Acknowledgments | 109 |
| 111 | |
Further reading | 113 |
| 117 | |
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Common terms and phrases
ajaw ancient Maya archaeological archaeologists architectural artists autonomy Aztec Balam ball court Belize Calakmul calendar carved central Mexico Chichén Itzá Chilam Balam city-states Classic period Classic-era Collapse complex conquest conquistadors Copan created David deities divine king dynasty early twenty-first century elite empire Europeans example glyphs Guatemala hieroglyphic texts highland Guatemala human Hunahpu indigenous invaders Itza Jaguar John K'iche K'inich k’uhul ajaw Kaminaljuyu Kaqchikel Late Preclassic lineage Long Count maize Maya area Maya cities Maya civilization Maya communities Maya genesis Maya history Maya kingdoms Maya regions Maya society Maya world Maya-Spanish Mayan languages Mayanists Mayapan Mesoamerican Michael modern monumental numbers painted Palenque peninsula Peten Peter Piedras Negras plazas political Popol Vuh Postclassic Preclassic period priests pyramids religious ritual rulers scholars sixteenth century social Spaniards stelae Stephen stone structures survived temple Teotihuacan Tikal Toltec towns traditions urban Uxmal visual warfare warriors writing rabbit Yaxchilan Yucatan Yucatec