Political decentralization in the Maya lowlands : an examination of the origins of multepal or joint governance / by Bryan M. Carlo.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Carlo, Bryan M., 1976-

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mayas--Politics and government.

Mayas.

Physical Description:

xiv, 319 leaves : illustrations, map

Production:

2006.

Summary:

Considerations of political organization are fundamental to a comprehensive understanding of complex societies. Studies of political organization provide an appreciation for how relationships among groups and their representatives are ordered. Moreover, such studies draw attention to those in a given society who make decisions, resolve conflicts, allocate or restrict resources and to how these and other undertakings are achieved. Vital to studies of political organization are problems of understanding how and why political forms exhibited by given societies change through time. This work utilizes ethnohistorical, architectural, and iconographic data integrated through a direct-historical approach in order to understand a change in governance within one society: the ancient lowland Maya, specifically from a structure of governance that revolved around the office of k'ul ajaw ('holy lord, ruler'), depicted as divine kingship and attributed to the Classic Maya (A.D. 250-800), into a more participatory form of rule based on the institution of multepal ('joint rule,' 'council rule'), ascribed to Mayapán and other Late Postclassic (A.D. 1200-1521) polities. Specifically, this thesis attempts to answer the questions of where, when, and why multepal governance first developed in the Maya Lowlands. Various data are utilized in order to devise a series of material correlates or expectations for multepal governance. The resulting study suggests that multepal governance was first employed at Mayapán, resulting from events and processes specific to the northern lowlands during the Late Postclassic period. Chich'en Itza and Xcalumkin implemented forms of corporate rule during the Late Classic (A.D. 550-800) period, although they were unlike the multepal employed at Mayapán. Available data indicates Copán and Oxkintok were ruled by divine kings throughout their histories. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Notes:

Photocopy. Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Dissertation Services, 2008. xiv, 319 p. : ill., map ; 22 cm.

Thesis (M.A.)--Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 292-318).

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

OCLC:

733561279