When Irish Eyes View Maya Classic Period Political Systems

Summary

Several debates have endured for decades within the field of anthropological archaeology as to the character of lowland Classic period Maya political organization. Scholars have been struck by the contrast between Maya regal-ritual centers possessed of impressive monumental architecture with the minimal references from the documentary record to any kind of bureaucratic organization. There is disagreement as to the scale of the larger Maya polities and whether or not some polities had begun to move away from kinship as a central organizing principle. There are even more fundamental disagreements as to whether some or most Maya Classic period political systems could be termed states, and if so, the degree to which political power was centralized in the institution of kingship.

The political systems of early medieval Ireland resemble those of the Classic period Maya on many grounds. The scalar, organizational and demographic attributes of Maya and Irish political systems will be compared systematically in order to tease out the factors that may account for their similarities. Models pertaining to chiefdoms and states will be evaluated as to their suitability.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 19900