Ritual Violence And The Fall Of The Classic Maya Kings Gyles Iannone by Gyles Iannone, Brett A. Houk 9780813062754, 0813062756 instant download after payment.

Maya kings who failed to ensure the prosperity of their kingdoms were subject to various forms of termination, including the ritual defacing and destruction of monuments and even violent death. This is the first comprehensive volume to focus on the varied responses to the failure of Classic period dynasties in the southern lowlands. The contributors offer new insights into the Maya collapse, evaluating the trope of the scapegoat king and the demise of the traditional institution of kingship in the early ninth century AD - a time of intense environmental, economic, social, political, and even ideological change. “A valuable contribution to our knowledge of the events surrounding the collapse of the ancient Maya in the Late and Terminal Classic periods, particularly the death of kings and the failure of the institution of divine kingship.” — Lisa LeCount, coeditor of Classic Maya Provincial Politics: Xunantunich and Its Hinterlands.