Introduction -- Discovery and conquest by Europeans -- The fate of the Maya heritage -- The meaning of Maya civilization -- Foreign domination and rebirth of the Maya heritage -- The destruction of the Maya heritage -- 1. The setting of Maya civilization -- Natural and cultural subdivisions of the Maya Area -- The Pacific Coastal plain -- The highlands -- The lowlands -- The consequences of ecological diversity -- 2. Archaeology and Maya civilization -- Reconstructing the past -- Changing perspectives on the Maya past -- Models of past societies -- Development of complex society and civilization -- The evolution of civilizations -- Understanding the evolution of Maya civilization -- The Maya economy -- Maya social and political systems -- Maya ideology and religion -- The ancient Maya world -- Elite and nonelite views of the ancient Maya -- Chronology -- 3. History and Maya civilization -- Time and Maya history -- Numerals -- The calendar -- Measuring the cycles of time -- Recording the cycles of time -- Sources of Maya history -- The Maya chronicles -- Ancient writing systems -- Pre-Columbian Maya texts -- Ancient Maya writing -- Milestones in decipherment -- Contributions to understanding the ancient Maya -- History and Maya civilization -- 4. The origins of Maya civilization -- The chronology of pre-Columbian development -- The Archaic : origins of highland and coastal cultural traditions -- The Early Preclassic : agriculture, warfare, and evidence of complex society -- Preclassic developments on the Gulf Coast of Mexico -- Preclassic developments in highland Mexico -- Summary of Archaic and Early Preclassic developments -- Patterns in the evolution of Mesoamerican civilization --
5. The emergence of Maya civilization in the Middle Preclassic -- The emergence of complex societies -- Markers of complex societies -- The Pacific plain in the Middle Preclassic -- Middle Preclassic commodities and monuments -- The highlands in the Middle Preclassic -- The lowlands in the Middle Preclassic -- Middle Preclassic communities -- The rise of complex society in the lowlands -- Further Middle Preclassic developments in the lowlands -- Summary : the Middle Preclassic precursors of Maya civilization -- 6. The origins of Maya states in the Late Preclassic -- Late Preclassic Maya civilization and writing traditions-- The Late Preclassic Isthmian tradition -- The Late Preclassic Southern Maya -- Highland-lowland interaction in the Preclassic -- The Maya lowlands in the Late Preclassic -- Patterns of Late Preclassic rulership -- Preclassic developments in the Northern lowlands -- Late Preclassic lowland Maya civilization -- Decline in the terminal Preclassic -- Summary : reconstructing the Maya Preclassic -- 7. The expansion of Maya states in the Early Classic -- The Early Classic and the origins of Maya civilization -- The Southern Maya area in the Classic Period -- The Classic transition in the lowlands -- The expansion of states in the Maya lowlands -- Competition and warfare in the Classic lowlands -- The Early Classic in the Maya lowlands -- The rise of Tikal in the Early Classic (ca. 100-378) -- Neighboring centers in the central lowlands (ca. 328-416) -- Strangers in the lowlands (378-456) -- Expansion into the Southeastern area (406-37) -- Archaeology, history, and Copan's Dynastic founding (ca. 400-470) -- The founder of Quirigua -- The rise of the Calakmul Dynasty (435-561) -- The Calakmul-Caracol alliance -- Prosperity and problems at Tikal (458-562) -- The defeat of Tikal (562) -- Summary : the Early Classic states of the Maya lowlands --
8. The Apogee of Maya states in the Late Classic -- Ascendancy of Calakmul (562-695) -- The resurgence of Tikal (682-768) -- Rise and fall of the Petexbatun Kingdom (682-802) -- The end of the Calakmul Dynasty (695-909) -- Recovery and decline at Caracol (798-859) -- The end of the Tikal Dynasty (768-869) -- Expansion of the Usumacinta polities -- Expansion of the Western polities -- Expansion of the Southeastern polities -- Summary : development of states in the Late Classic lowlands -- 9. Transformations in the Terminal Classic -- Decline in the Classic heartland -- The downfall of Classic Maya states -- Explanations for the end of Maya states -- A scenario for the downfall of Classic Maya states -- Survival and revival of Classic enclaves -- Transformation in the Terminal Classic -- The transitional regional traditions -- The rise of the Northern lowland polities -- Polities in Northwestern Yucatan -- Polities in Northeastern Yucatan -- The rise of Chichen Itza -- The Itza economy -- The Itza state -- The cult of K'uk'ulkan -- Changes in the Southern Maya area -- Summary : culmination and transition in the Terminal Classic -- 10. Reformulation and revival in the Postclassic -- The downfall of Chichen Itza -- The rise of Mayapan -- The Mayapan state -- The fall of Mayapan and the rise of petty states -- The East Coast of Yucatan -- Revival of fortunes in the Central lowlands -- The Southern Maya area in the Postclassic -- Summary : reformulation and revival in the Postclassic -- Overview : changing perspectives on Maya civilization -- 11. The ancient Maya economy -- The political economy -- The social economy -- Mobilization of labor -- Ancient Maya subsistence -- Reconstructing the patterns of subsistence -- Production of goods -- Distribution of goods -- The importance of trade -- Spatial and temporal patterns of long-distance trade --
12. The organization of Maya society -- Reconstructing the social landscape -- Maya society in the Pre-Columbian ea -- Marriage and the family -- Ancient Maya households -- Settlement in the Maya lowlands -- Social stratification -- Residential and descent groups -- Residential groups and the house model -- Reconstructing the political landscape -- Diving kings and the hierarchy of power -- Maya polities -- Cycles of growth and decline -- State organizational models -- The basis of political power -- 13. Maya ideology and religion -- Maya world view -- Origins of Maya ideology -- Transformations by outsiders -- Cosmology -- Maya deities -- Rituals and ceremonies -- Royal rituals of the Classic Period -- Ritual of the Postclassic and Conquest Periods -- The ideological foundations of Maya Civilization -- Epilogue. The conquest of the Maya -- First contacts, 1502-25 -- The period of conquest, 1524-1697 -- The subjugation of the Southern Maya by Pedro de Alvarado, 1524-27 -- The subjugation of Yucatan by the Montejos, 1527-46 -- The independent Itza, 1525-1696 -- The subjugation of the Itza, 1696-97 -- Appendix. Dates for K'atun and Half-K'atun endings
