Palenque: Recent Investigations at the Classic Maya Center

by Damien B. Marken, Edwin L. Barnhart, Joshua A. Balcells Gonzalez, Mark B. Child, Arnoldo Gonzalez Cruz, Kirk D. French, Peter Matthews, Robert L. Rands, Merle Greene Robertson, Kirk D. Straight, Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo, David Stuart, C Rudy Larios Villata

Overview

Palenque is one of the best known and oldest Mayan archaeological sites. But recently little has been published on the ongoing work here. Marken's collection brings the archaeological record of Palenque up to date. Chapters cover a wide range of topics from architecture to hieroglyphic texts, from broad issues of chronology to settlement to theoretical and methodological issues concerning architectural excavations. Palenque represents an important update of research for any Mayan archaeologist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759108752
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	04/01/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 9.08(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Damien B. Marken is a member of the mapping team for the Proyecto Arqueológico El Perú-Waka’ in Guatemala.

Table of Contents

1 Foreword 2 Preface Part 3 INTRODUCTION 4 Palenque Archaeology: An Introduction Part 5 CHRONOLOGY 6 Chronological Chart and Overview of Ceramic Developments at Palenque 7 Palenque and Selected Survey Sites in Chiapas and Tabasco: The Preclassic 8 The Construction Chronology of Palenque: Seriation Within an Architectural Form Part 9 SETTLEMENT 10 The Problem of Political Integration in the Kingdom of Baak 11 Indicators of Urbanism at Palenque 12 Creating Space through Water Management at the Classic Maya Site of Palenque, Chiapas Part 13 ARCHITECTURE AND EXCAVATION 14 Elite Residential Compounds at Late Classic Palenque 15 Following the Traces of Temple XX: Proyecto Grupo de las Cruces 2002 Excavations 16 A House of Cards: Construction, Proportion and Form at Temple XIX, Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico Part 17 RELIGION AND RITUAL SPACES 18 Gods and Histories: Mythology and Dynastic Succession at Temples XIX and XXI at Palenque 19 Ritual Purification and the Ancient Maya Sweatbath at Palenque 20 CONTEMPORARY CONCERNS AND CONCLUSIONS 21 Why Restore Architecture at Palenque? 22 Conclusion: Reconceptualizing the Palenque Polity 23 Index 24 About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Marken has selected essays that not only give the reader an intimate portrait of what Palenque looks like today, but also how it must have looked when it was a bustling metropolis. More important, these essays serve to provide the reader with a detailed analysis of the archaeological work now being done at Palenque, and how this research has added to our understanding of the city, as well as Maya history and culture...Essential reading for anyone with an interest in Palenque, or ancient Maya history or culture. It serves as an excellent reference book on the city, and is well suited for use as a supplemental text in both university level archaeology and anthropology courses dealing with ancient Mesoamerican studies.

History In Review

A major contribution to Maya archaeology; of lasting value for research library collections. Summing Up: Essential.

CHOICE

This is a very important contribution to Maya archaeology, and indispensable reading for anyone interested in Palenque. It makes available a great deal of new information from recent and on-going research at one of the most famous of all Classic Maya sites.

Robert J. Sharer

"Palenque is that rarest of ruins: an ancient city that, through text, image, and architecture, tells us a vibrant story of dynastic glory and decay. With this volume, Damien Marken brings the latest scholarship on Palenque to wider notice and tells that story as never before. A group of specialists, both established and new, come together to reveal new truths about Palenque. Readers learn of the city's earliest years, its explosive growth into the countryside as Palenque gathers momentum, its elaborate, continuous development of a local theology, and the results of recent mapping that point to fruitful places for further work. This edited book is a landmark, a reference for all future work at this most princely and refined of Maya cities."

Stephen Houston

Damien Marken's edited book is valuable in that it draws together this latest generation of research…. An exceptionally useful case study.

Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute

A major contribution to Maya archaeology; of lasting value for research library collections. Summing Up: Essential.

Choice