Table Of Content■NTHROPOLOGY / LATIN AMERICA
T HE A N C I E N T M A Y A
6 t h e d i t i o n
Robert J. Sharer with l.oa P. Traxler
This book traces the evolution of Maya civilization through the Pre-Columbian
era, a span of some 2,500 years from the origins of complex society within
Mesoamerica to the end of the Pre-Columbian world with the Spanish Conquest
in the 16th century. The Sixth Edition presents new archaeological evidence
and historical studies and offers the most extensive revisions of this classic work
to date. The result is the most thorough and incisive study of the origins and
development of ancient Maya civilization ever published.
PRAISE FOR THE FIFTH EDITION
“As readable as it is comprehensive, this volume is an admirable and up-to-date
account of the ancient Maya.”
Scientific American
,
“The most comprehensive and most lavishly illustrated book on its subject.”
Journal of Latin American Studies
“The Ancient Maya has become a standard text on the study of Mayan culture
and prehistory. Given the veritable explosion of research on the Maya, greater
understanding of this past—yet living—culture has been realized.”
Colonial Latin American Historical Review
“This is the most comprehensive and best-illustrated book on one of pre
Columbian America’s richest civilizations.”
New Scientist
Robert J. Sharer is the Shoemaker Professor of Anthropology at the University of Penn
sylvania and Curator of the American Section at the university’s Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology. He is the author of Quirigua: A Classic Maya Center and Its Sculpture
and Everyday Life in Maya Civilization, as well as two previous editions o/"The Ancient
Maya. Loa P. Traxler is a Research Scientist in the American Section of the University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
S T A N F O R D U N I V F. R S T T Y P R K S S ivwu\tup.nrg
SIXTH EDITION
M A Y A
T H E A N C I E N T
Robert J. Sharer
with
Loa P. Traxler
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Stanford, California 2006
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
The first edition of this book, bySylvanus G. Morley, was published in 1946; the second, with revisions
by Morley, in 1947. The third edition, published in 1956, was prepared after Morlcy’s death by George
W. Brainerd, except for the final chapter, which was written after Brainerd’s death by his editorial assis
tant, Betty Bell. The fourth and fifth editions, prepared by Robert J. Sharer and published in 1983 and
1994, respectively, preserved much of the Morley-Braincrd text while adding considerable results of re
search and reinterpretation then available. The present edition, prepared by Robert J. Sharer with Loa 1’.
Traxler, is a thoroughly rewritten and much expanded treatment based on the advance of knowledge
achieved in the years since the fifth edition was prepared.
© 1946,1947, 1956, 1983, 1994, 1006 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior Univer
sity. All rights reserved.
No parr of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or me
chanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system with
out the prior written permission of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sharer, Robert J.
The ancient Maya.— 6th cd. / Robert J. Sharer with Loa P. Traxler.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8047-4X16-0 (cloth : alk. paper)—isbn 0-8047-4817-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
i. Mayas. 2. Mayas—Antiquities. 3. Mexico—Antiquities. 4. Central America—Antiquities.
I. Traxler, Loa 1’. II. Title.
F143J.S53 2.006
972.8i'oi6—den
2005003043
Designed by Gordon Chun
Typeset by G&S Book Services in 10/13 Sabon
Original Printing 2006
I.ast figure below indicates year of this printing:
15 14 13 11 11 10 09 08 07 06
CONTENTS
xii List of Tables
xiii List of Figures
xxiii List of Boxes
xxvi List of Color Plates
xxvii Preface
xxxi Acknowledgments
xxxiii A Note on Names and Pronunciation
i INTRODUCTION
4 Discovery and Conquest by Europeans
6 The Fate of the Maya Heritage
7 The Meaning of Maya Civilization
8 Foreign Domination and Rebirth of the Maya Heritage
16 The Destruction of the Maya Heritage
23 CHAPTER 1 The Setting of Maya Civilization
2.9 Natural and Cultural Subdivisions of the Maya Area
31 The Pacific Coastal Plain
34 The Highlands
41 The I.owlands
53 The Consequences of Ecological Diversity
57 CHAPTER 2 Archaeology and Maya Civilization
57 Reconstructing the Past
60 Changing Perspectives on the Maya Past
7 t Models of Past Societies
73 Development of Complex Society and Civilization
75 The Evolution of Civilizations
79 Understanding the Evolution of Maya Civilization
80 The Maya Economy
86 Maya Social and Political Systems
9i Maya Ideology and Religion
93 The Ancient Maya World
96 Elite and Nonelite Views of the Ancient Maya
98 Chronology
99 CHAPTER 3 History and Maya Civilization
99 Time and Maya History
100 Numerals
102 The Calendar
116 Measuring the Cycles of Time
118 Recording the Cycles of Time
120 Sources of Maya History
123 The Maya Chronicles
125 Ancient Writing Systems
t 25 Pre-Columbian Maya Texts
134 Ancient Maya Writing
145 Milestones in Decipherment
147 Contributions to Understanding the Ancient Maya
152 History and Maya Civilization
153 CHAPTER 4 The Origins of Maya Civilization
153 The Chronology of Pre-Columbian Development
157 The Archaic: Origins of Highland and Coastal Cultural
Traditions
160 The Early Preclassic: Agriculture, Warfare, and Evidence
of Complex Society
164 Preclassic Developments on the Gulf Coast of Mexico
(68 Preclassic Developments in Highland Mexico
173 Summary of Archaic and Early Preclassic Developments
174 Patterns in the Evolution of Mesoamerican Civilization
177 CHAPTER 5 The Emergence of Maya Civilization
in the Middle Preclassic
178 The Emergence of Complex Societies
179 Markers of Complex Societies
I
185 The Pacific Plain in the Middle Preclassic
190 Middle Preclassic Commodities and Monuments
194 The Highlands in the Middle Preclassic
201 The Lowlands in the Middle Preclassic
202 Middle Preclassic Communities
207 The Rise of Complex Society in the Lowlands
214 Further Middle Preclassic Developments in the Lowlands
219 Summary: The Middle Preclassic Precursors of Maya
Civilization
223 CHAPTER 6 The Origins of Maya States in the
Late Preclassic
223 Late Preclassic Maya Civilization and
Writing Traditions
225 The Late Preclassic Isthmian Tradition
231 The Late Preclassic Southern Maya
251 Highland-Lowland Interaction in the Preclassic
251 The Maya Lowlands in the Late Preclassic
269 Patterns of Late Preclassic Rulership
276 Preclassic Developments in the Northern Lowlands
278 Late Preclassic Lowland Maya Civilization
279 Decline in the Terminal Preclassic
284 Summary: Reconstructing the Maya Preclassic
287 CHAPTER 7 The Expansion of Maya States
in the Early Classic
287 The Early Classic and the Origins of Maya Civilization
z88 The Southern Maya Area in the Classic Period
294 The Classic Transition in the Lowlands
295 The Expansion of States in the Maya Lowlands
299 Competition and Warfare in the Classic Lowlands
301 The Early Classic in the Maya Lowlands
310 The Rise of Tikal in the Early Classic (ca. 100-378)
317 Neighboring Centers in the Central Lowlands
(ca. 328-416)
3 2.1 Strangers in the Lowlands (378-456)
333 Expansion into the Southeastern Area (406 — 37)
342 Archaeology, History, and Copan’s Dynastic Founding
(ca. 400-470)
351 The Founder of Quirigua
358 The Rise of the Calakmul Dynasty (435-561)
361 The Calakmul-Caracol Alliance
362 Prosperity and Problems at Tikal (458-562)
369 The Defeat of Tikal (562)
371 Summary: The Early Classic States of the Maya Lowlands
377 CHAPTER 8 The Apogee of Maya States
in the Late Classic
379 Ascendancy of Calakmul ( 562-695)
390 The Resurgence of Tikal (682-768)
403 Rise and Fall of the Petexbatun Kingdom (682-8^2)
413 The End of the Calakmul Dynasty (695-909)
415 Recovery and Decline at Caracol (798-859)
417 The End of the Tikal Dynasty (768-869)
421 Expansion of the Usumacinta Polities
451 Expansion of the Western Polities
476 Expansion of the Southeastern Polities
495 Summary: Development of States in the
Late Classic Lowlands
499 CHAPTER 9 Transformations in the Terminal Classic
499 Decline in the Classic Heartland
503 The Downfall of Classic Maya States
505 Explanations for the End of Maya States
513 A Scenario for the Downfall of Classic Maya States
520 Survival and Revival of Classic Enclaves
525 Transformation in the Terminal Classic
529 The Transitional Regional Traditions
531 The Rise of the Northern Lowland Polities
532 Polities in Northwestern Yucatan
554 Polities in Northeastern Yucatan
558 The Rise of Chichen ltza
570 The ltza Economy
580 The ltza State
582 The Cult of K’uk’ulkan
583 Changes in the Southern Maya Area
585 Summary: Culmination and Transition in the
Terminal Classic
589 CHAPTER 10 Reformulation and Revival
in the Postclassic
591 The Downfall of Chichen ltza
592 The Rise of Mayapan
601 The Mayapan State
603 The Fall of Mayapan and the Rise of Petty States
604 The East Coast of Yucatan
613 Revival of Fortunes in the Central Lowlands
618 The Southern Maya Area in the Postclassic
626 Summary: Reformulation and Revival in the Postclassic
628 Overview: Changing Perspectives on Maya Civilization
631 CHAPTER 11 The Ancient Maya Economy
632 The Political Economy
635 The Social Economy
636 Mobilization of Labor
637 Ancient Maya Subsistence
648 Reconstructing the Patterns of Subsistence
651 Production of Goods
657 Distribution of Goods
660 The Importance of Trade
661 Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Long-Distance Trade
665 CHAPTER 12 The Organization of Maya Society
66 5 Reconstructing the Social Landscape
666 Maya Society in the Pre-Columbian Era
675 Marriage and the Family
677 Ancient Maya Households
682 Settlement in the Maya Lowlands
690 Social Stratification
692 Residential and Descent Groups
695 Residential Groups and the House Model
69 6 Reconstructing the Political Landscape
696 Divine Kings and the Hierarchy of Power
703 Maya Politics
708 Cycles of Growth and Decline
7” State Organizational Models
714 The Basis of Political Power
719 CHAPTER 13 Maya Ideology and Religion
719 Maya World View
720 Origins of Maya Ideology
722 Transformations by Outsiders
726 Cosmology
735 Maya Deities
745 Rituals and Ceremonies
747 Royal Rituals of the Classic Period
748 Rituals of the Postclassic and Conquest Periods
755 The Ideological Foundations of Maya Civilization
757 EPILOGUE The Conquest of the Maya
75« First Contacts, 1502-25
762 The Period of Conquest, 1524-1697
763 The Subjugation of the Southern Maya by Pedro de
1524-27
766 The Subjugation of Yucatan by the Montejos, 1527-
Description:This book traces the evolution of Maya civilization through the Pre-Columbian era, a span of some 2,500 years from the origins of complex society within Mesoamerica to the end of the Pre-Columbian world with the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. The sixth edition presents new archaeological evid
