After the Crisis: Epigraphic Data on Political and Cultural Developments in the Maya Lowlands 800–1000 CE

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Movement of People and Ideas in Eastern Mesoamerica during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries CE: A Multidisciplinary Approach Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Maya inscriptions have long been considered an impoverished source on the momentous changes that gripped society at the close of the Classic era. Not only do we see a steep decline in quantity as major centers fall silent, but the texts that were produced tend to be shorter and focused on ritual rather than political events. However, this scarce resource is becoming more productive as we begin to appreciate the scale of a crisis that transformed the Maya lowlands soon after 800, and how political changes intermesh with cultural ones occurring at the same time. There was a major realignment of power as a few centers that not only survived but thrived and express a significant body of foreign traits and connections.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Movement of People and Ideas in Eastern Mesoamerica during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries CE: A Multidisciplinary Approach Part I   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36106.0