
Published online:
21 November 2012
Published in print:
24 September 2012
Online ISBN:
9780199971183
Print ISBN:
9780195390933
Contents
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What Collapsed? What Collapsed?
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Multiple Collapses Multiple Collapses
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Explaining the Collapse Explaining the Collapse
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References References
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Chapter
23 The Classic Maya Collapse
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David Webster
David Webster
Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University
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David Webster (Pennsylvania State University)
Pages
324–334
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Published:21 November 2012
Cite
Webster, David, ' The Classic Maya Collapse', in Deborah L. Nichols (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, Oxford Handbooks (2012; online edn, Oxford Academic, 21 Nov. 2012), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195390933.013.0023, accessed 10 May 2025.
Abstract
This article discusses the collapse of the Classic Mayan civilization of southern and eastern Mesoamerica. Archaeologists now commonly recognize that there are several dimensions to this general collapse: the disappearance of royal dynasties and their ideological underpinnings; the dissolution of larger sociopolitical patterns, most importantly the disappearance of nonroyal elites; and a demographic collapse that greatly reduced populations or eliminated them altogether. All these things were once commonly assumed to be closely linked, but it is increasingly evident that each one must be treated independently.
Series
Oxford Handbooks
Collection:
Oxford Handbooks Online
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