Description: Hutson examines the Mesoamerican lowland cities of the empire and asks, "Why did people choose to live in cities?" Offering a synthesis of previous research on Maya cities, Hutson describes the composition and attractions of these cities by examining the function of boundaries, agency, and the actors involved.
Brief description:
Scott R. Hutson, professor of anthropology at the University of Kentucky, is the author of Dwelling, Identity, and the Maya: Relational Archaeology at Chunchucmil and editor of Ancient Maya Commerce..
Review Quotes: "A clearly written, persuasive volume. . . . An excellent contribution to the 'new' Mesoamerican archaeology."--Choice "Hutson reviews the changing approaches to urbanism in the Maya world. . . . Key themes are multiplicity--that is the unexpected encounters and juxtapositions that lead to novelty and change--and the clustering of people and activities, which reduces costs and spurs innovation."--Antiquity "The approaches offered in the book, Hutson's ideas about cities and urbanism, and the powerful narrative of social experience woven into each chapter all combine to make The Ancient Urban Maya an excellent contribution to the growing body of literature on Maya cities specifically and ancient urbanism generally."--Journal of Field Archaeology