Ebook: Living with the Ancestors: Kinship and Kingship in Ancient Maya Society

Integrating archaeological, epigraphic, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic data, McAnany argues that lineage is the organizing principle throughout all segments of Maya society, elite and non-elite alike. She questions the monolithic view of the Classic Maya as a society of kings and peasants and instead describes the Classic Period as an era of dynamic tension between the older organizational structures of the lineages and the newer, more centralized and extractive forces of divine kingship. A first approach to a complete history of the Maya, this work integrates ritual practice with agrarian concerns and household structure; it is important reading for everyone interested in Mesoamerican culture.