"Brings together for the first time all the major sites of this part of the Maya world and helps us understand how the ancient Maya planned and built their beautiful cities. It will become both a handbook and a source of ideas for other archaeologists for years to come."--George J. Bey III, coeditor of Pottery Economics in Mesoamerica

"Skillfully integrates the social histories of urban development."--Vernon L. Scarborough, author of The Flow of Power: Ancient Water Systems and Landscapes

"Any scholar interested in urban planning and the built environment will find...

Brings together for the first time all the major sites of this part of the Maya world and helps us understand how the ancient Maya planned and built their beautiful cities. It will become both a handbook and a source of ideas for other archaeologists for years to come. George J. Bey III, coeditor of Pottery Economics in Mesoamerica
Skillfully integrates the social histories of urban development. Vernon L. Scarborough, author of The Flow of Power: Ancient Water Systems and Landscapes
Any scholar interested in urban planning and the built environment will find this book...

Maya kings who failed to ensure the prosperity of their kingdoms were subject to various forms of termination, including the ritual defacing and destruction of monuments and even violent death. This is the first comprehensive volume to focus on the varied responses to the failure of Classic period dynasties in the southern lowlands. The contributors offer new insights into the Maya "collapse," evaluating the trope of the scapegoat king and the demise of the traditional institution of kingship in the early ninth century AD--a time of intense environmental, economic, social, political, and even...