Ancient Maya Social Evolution

Part II of III: Ideological foundation The question I posed last week was how the ancients developed and sustained a common political structure and unified ideology that covered an enormous territory (Guatemala, Belize and southeastern Mexico) for over a millennia. I imagined how their political structure might have gotten started and described how it might have grown from small villages with a “chief” to cities with  divine kings, monumental architecture, hieroglyphic writing and a unique art style. Again, my catalyst for imagining these developments is *Ancient Maya Politics: A political anthropology of… Read More

Ancient Maya Social Evolution

Part I of III: From farmers to divine kings and villages to cities One of the great wonders of Classic Maya civilization is how they developed and sustained a unified political structure and ideology that covered an enormous territory (Guatemala, Belize and Southeastern Mexico) for nearly a millennia.  In *Ancient Maya Politics: A political anthropology of the Classic Period 150-900 CE, anthropologist Simon Martin suggests that ideological mechanisms instilled a “dynamic equilibrium” within the social body that prevented the Maya from developing states or empires. Stitching together his comprehensive analysis with items… Read More