Substance of the Ancient Maya

Andrew K. Scherer is the director of the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World and an associate professor of anthropology and archaeology at Brown University. Thomas G. Garrison is an assistant professor of geography and the environment and the director of the Lidar and Landscapes of the Ancient Mediterranean and Americas (LLAMA Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.

“An excellent contribution to the field of Maya studies.” - William L. Fash, author of Scribes, Warriors, and Kings: The City of Copán and the Ancient Maya

• Chapter One. Introduction: Substance of the Ancient MayaAndrew K. Scherer and Thomas G. GarrisonPart I. Kingdoms and CommunitiesChapter Two. Classic Maya Royal Courts, Gender, Personhood, and Moral AuthorityPatricia A. McAnanyChapter Three. Revisiting the Moral Community: Holy Lords, Patron Deities, Origins, and Collapse at Piedras Negras and BeyondCharles Golden and Takeshi InomataChapter Four. Negotiating Ancient Maya Identity: Ethnicity, Community, and the Fostering of Loyalty in Classic Period KingdomsThomas G. Garrison and Edwin RománChapter Five. Maya Populations, Proxies, and PuzzlesDavid WebsterChapter Six. The Long Twilight of the Tikal Dynasty: What Ninth Century Tikal, Zacpeten, Ixlu, and Jimbal Tell Us About the Classic Maya CollapseSimon MartinChapter Seven. Revisiting the Architectural Settings of Bonampak: A World on FireMary MillerPart II. Objects and BeingsChapter Eight. Proper Names and the Origins of WritingDavid StuartChapter Nine. The Olmec Double Merlon Motif: A Middle Formative Sign for GreenKarl A. TaubeChapter Ten. Setting the Story in Motion: Dedicatory Texts on 4th–6th Century Maya VasesClaudia BrittenhamChapter Eleven. Supporting Roles: Wood and Helper Figures in Ancient Maya ArtJames DoyleChapter Twelve. The Death Within: Maya Perspectives on Bone, Material, and BeingAndrew K. SchererChapter Thirteen. Animal Sacrifice in Mesoamerica: Imitation, Incorporation, and IntimacySarah E. Newman and Franco D. RossiPart III. End MattersChapter Fourteen. Unfinished BusinessStephen Houston