Motul de San José - (Maya Studies) by Antonia E Foias & Kitty F Emery (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"This volume is the first of its kind. A complex mosaic of how a relatively small Late Classic Maya polity was economically, socially, and politically organized. A must-read for all Maya scholars."--James F. Garber, editor of The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley

"The editors have assembled a remarkable array of evidence, including several innovative analytical methods. The product is a synthetic model that will shape how we understand and study Classic Maya political economy for the next several decades."--Jason Yaeger, editor of Classic Maya Provincial Politics

Scholars have long debated the nature of Maya political organization during the Classic period (AD 250-950). Complex questions regarding political centralization, economic change, and the role of politics and economics in the rise and collapse of the civilization have been examined and reexamined from a variety of perspectives. Antonia Foias and Kitty Emery have assembled a broad collection of essays all focused on a single polity, that of Motul de San José.

By presenting a coherent interdisciplinary body of archaeological and environmental data, the volume offers an intensely deep, focused investigation of the various models of the ancient Maya political and economic systems. Research conducted over six seasons of fieldwork reveals a more centralized political system than expected and uncovers the workings of the ancient economic structure. The contributors offer new details concerning how involved royals and nonroyal elites were in the politics of nearby states, as well as an extensive tribute system.

From the Back Cover

"This volume is the first of its kind. A complex mosaic of how a relatively small Late Classic Maya polity was economically, socially, and politically organized. A must-read for all Maya scholars."--James F. Garber, editor of "The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley" "The editors have assembled a remarkable array of evidence, including several innovative analytical methods. The product is a synthetic model that will shape how we understand and study Classic Maya political economy for the next several decades."--Jason Yaeger, editor of "Classic Maya Provincial Politics" Scholars have long debated the nature of Maya political organization during the Classic period (AD 250-950). Complex questions regarding political centralization, economic change, and the role of politics and economics in the rise and collapse of the civilization have been examined and reexamined from a variety of perspectives. Antonia Foias and Kitty Emery have assembled a broad collection of essays all focused on a single polity, that of Motul de San Jose.By presenting a coherent interdisciplinary body of archaeological and environmental data, the volume offers an intensely deep, focused investigation of the various models of the ancient Maya political and economic systems. Research conducted over six seasons of fieldwork reveals a more centralized political system than expected and uncovers the workings of the ancient economic structure. The contributors offer new details concerning how involved royals and nonroyal elites were in the politics of nearby states, as well as an extensive tribute system. Antonia E. Foias is professor of anthropology at Williams College. Kitty F. Emery is associate curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History and associate professor at the University of Florida."" "A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase"

Review Quotes

"A robust presentation....Motul de San José joins a group of edited volumes published in recent years that offer state-of-the-art synthetic overviews of the archeology of a site or region in the Maya area...among these volumes Motul de San José is remarkable in the range of data presented and the syntheses attempted."--Journal of Anthropological Research


"Superb. . . . Address[es] all aspects of the complex web of interaction and integration that was the Late Classic polity of Motul de San José, including political history, craft production, and animal and agricultural economies. . . .An invaluable work that paints a picture, replete
with the richness and variety present in Late Classic Maya society."--Current Anthropology


"Features synthetic but also data-rich chapters from a wide variety of specialists."--Antiquity

About the Author

Antonia E. Foias, professor of anthropology at Williams College, is the author of Ceramics, Production, and Exchange in the Petexbatun Region: The Economic Parameters of the Classic Maya Collapse. Kitty F. Emery is assistant curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History and associate professor at the University of Florida.