The Archaeology of Political Structure: Settlement Analysis in a Classic Maya Polity

This innovative analysis of archaeological settlement patterns as a guide to ancient political structure focuses on the Maya of Southeastern Mexico. Working principally with data from the Classic Period in the Rosario Valley, the author relates problem orientation and theory to themes with wide currency in political anthropology. For archaeologists interested in complex societies, the handling of the settlement evidence and the close attention paid to bridging arguments provide valuable guidance on analyzing a multi-scale settlement record when reconstructing political structure. For Mayanists, the characterization of settlement and political structure is unprecedented in its rigor and scope. The book blends the particular allure of Maya archaeology with developments of more general interest in anthropological archaeology to make a substantial contribution to the practice and theory of settlement studies within complex societies.