Jonathan Kaplan

Diane Z. Chase

Federico Paredes-Umaña

In describing what was, in effect, a lost Maya city, the book highlights the many important research findings to date of long-term field research at the city, including a very early, yet extraordinarily sophisticated ancient water control system, and evidence for cacao arboriculture, to explain its rise to wealth and power as a "kingdom of chocolate"; also detailed are the ancient city's sculpture and ceramics and the ethnohistory of the modern Maya community lying atop it.

Water, Cacao, and the Early Maya of Chocolá

Arlen F. Chase

In Mesoamerican Elites, Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase present a wide variety of essays, all of which evaluate current archaeological knowledge of the privileged ruling classes, or elites, in Mesoamerica. Some experts argue that Mesoamerican societies consisted only of elites and peasants, while others argue that considerable intermediate social levels also existed. In light of such diverse opinions, this volume addresses problems in the interpretation of archaeological evidence regarding ancient Mesoamerican social structure.

Diane Z. Chase

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