In the Realm of Nachan Kan
Postclassic Maya Archaeology at Laguna De On, Belize
"A milestone publication in the field of archaeology."
—Jeremy A. Sabloff, University of Pennsylvania
"Kukulcan's Realm is quite simply the best study of an archaeological site in northern Yucatan to have appeared in the past 30 years. The careful work by the authors opens a surprising number of new vistas on Mayapán's organization, function, and development. Deploying the full range of modern archaeological tools it provides a rich and complex picture of this ancient capital, in the process setting a new standard for archaeological reporting."
—William Ringle, Dept. of Anthropology, Davidson College
"Kukulcan's Realm is an in-depth study of a great city that prospered at the very end of the Maya era. The authors have used the latest archaeological techniques to coax plentiful new information from the ruins. This volume is a highly enlightening report on that research."
—Georgia Fox, American Archaeology
"A substantial, in-depth study of life Mayapán. . . . The level of detail in the data presentation will be useful for archaeologists working at other sites in Mesoamerica and beyond, and the cultural interpretations will interest general readers. A rare work in that it shows so clearly the connection between data and interpretation."
—J. J. Aimers, CHOICE
Kukulcan's Realm chronicles the fabric of socioeconomic relationships and religious practice that bound the Postclassic Maya city of Mayapán's urban residents together for nearly three centuries. Presenting results of ten years of household archaeology at the city, including field research and laboratory analysis, the book discusses the social, political, economic, and ideological makeup of this complex urban center.
Masson and Peraza Lope's detailed overview provides evidence of a vibrant market economy that played a critical role in the city's political and economic success. They offer new perspectives from the homes of governing elites, secondary administrators, affluent artisans, and poorer members of the service industries. Household occupational specialists depended on regional trade for basic provisions that were essential to crafting industries, sustenance, and quality of life. Settlement patterns reveal intricate relationships of households with neighbors, garden plots, cultivable fields, thoroughfares, and resources. Urban planning endeavored to unite the cityscape and to integrate a pluralistic populace that derived from hometowns across the Yucatan peninsula.
New data from Mayapán, the pinnacle of Postclassic Maya society, contribute to a paradigm change regarding the evolution and organization of Maya society in general and make Kukulcan's Realm a must-read for students and scholars of the ancient Maya and Mesoamerica.
