The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse [Hardcover]

David Webster (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0500051135 | ISBN-13: 978-0500051139 | Publication Date: May 2002

This title provides the most satisfying and convincing analysis yet produced of the downfall of the New Worlds greatest ancient civilization.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The mystique of the ancient Maya dates from the early 19th century, when explorers in Central America rediscovered temple and palace complexes, astronomical observatories, and monuments with hieroglyphic inscriptions. The image of a lost civilization absorbed by jungle has fueled the popular imagination, leading to much speculation about how and why the classic Maya culture collapsed. Webster (anthropology, Pennsylvania State Univ.) here outlines what is known about that culture and discusses the meaning of civilization as applied to the ancient Maya. He notes that the Maya represented not a united empire but a group of kingdoms sharing an elite culture that did not survive the collapse, though descendants of the ancient Maya still live in the same geographical areas. Webster also reviews evidence from archaeology, paleography, and historical writings and discusses theories of the collapse, concluding that it was not sudden but gradual and that its causes vary with location and may be attributed to overpopulation, environmental degradation, warfare, and the decline of kingship ideology. This excellent overview of classic Maya culture and history will be of interest to both the specialist and the general reader. For all libraries. Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A very readable and persuasive treatise on a very important and difficult problem. -- American Archaeology, Summer 2002

Clear and reader-friendly writing, plus well-reproduced photographs, make this one of the best books on Maya archaeology. -- Choice, December 2002

Good reading on many different levels. -- Netsurfer Digest

Webster has done much in this study to lift the curtain of mystery and dispel the mystique. -- Post & Courier

Webster inserts people and color into a discussion of the evolution of Maya political organization. -- Archaeology

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500051135
• ISBN-13: 978-0500051139
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > History > Americas > Central America > Guatemala

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mayanism Goes Postmodern, March 18, 2005

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse (Hardcover)

David Webster is surely one of the most knowledgeable experts on the Maya, and this book is a mostly useful summary of current knowledge on that fascinating culture and its mysterious demise. Actually, the school of archeology that Webster belongs to has found, with convincing evidence, that after the classic age (ending around AD 900) the Maya did not have a sudden doomsday-like catastrophe that wiped them off the face of the Earth. Instead, slow-moving political pressures related to overpopulation and exhaustion of natural resources led to different city-states falling out of influence at different times, as the Maya very slowly transitioned into a less organized form of society. In fact Maya people still live in the area to this day and organized populations even confronted the Spanish conquistadors, but their "glory days" of huge monuments and designed cities were behind them. This is Webster's basic explanation for the "fall," and in any case he is only talking about the classic period of Maya civilization, rather than the nonsensical disappearance of millions of people.

This is all perfectly fascinating from an archeological standpoint, but the book is frustrating due to Webster's attitudes and writing style. He begins with rather condescending complaints about the supposed ignorance of the public on this subject, possibly turning off beginners who might be reading this book out of informed curiosity. Most importantly, Webster's thinking style is pure academic postmodernism, dwelling primarily on obtuse professorial abstractions like reconstructing texts and inventing historical meta-narratives. Webster spends dozens of pages arguing about the semantics of terms like "civilization" and "city," going off on tangents that will have little interest to anyone outside of professorland. And finally, a very large portion of the book consists of Webster rebutting and debunking other theories about the Maya, and his only way of proving his own theories (however believable they may be) is through a process of elimination and sheer force of will. [~doomsdayer520~]

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good synthesis, July 30, 2002

By 

"artmoreau" (Moline, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse (Hardcover)

Webster's book is extremely well written and should appeal to the general reader regardless of their knowledge of Mesoamerican cultures. As opposed to limiting himelf to Late Classic, he relates this to Mayan Civilization at the conquest, what is meant by the collapse of the Mayan "Civilization" and its relations to other ancient civilizations (although I think he missed the analog to the post-fall city-states of Italy and the possible implications). His evidence is excellent and his agruments eloquent. Readers looking for simple answers are warned - you will not find one answer. On the other hand, for those who want a well-thought out argument by a researcher steeped in the Mayan culture, this is your book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-technical agrarian economies can't escape Malthus' observations, December 26, 2007

By 

Douglas E. Libert "howitt" (parkersburg wv) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse (Hardcover)

Webster's book seems as if it was a reaction to downgrade the latest "fad" theory on the demise of the Maya,specifically the "Superdrought" theory and I must admit he succeeds well.First he defines what period of Mayan history he is adressing reminding the reader that anyone attempting to explain "the Ancient Mayans" must be very careful on the use of dates and phases as well as geographic locations since Mayan influence encompassed thousands of square miles with radically different climates.Here's some beef,(which Mayans never ate),according to Webster, the Mayans were comprised of 80% peasantry and their diet about 70-80% maize. The time period that Webster addresses is the aprox. 7-8th centuries AD when the "Ancient" Maya and their warrior/priest hierarchy ,complete with the grandiose building projects,collapsed in a span of about 2 centuries.
The chapter I particularly enjoyed was "Many Kingdoms,Many Fates" where Webster breaks down and analyzes the different Mayan cities and puts them in chronological order.Alot of these ruins are separated by hundreds of years and the evidence shows most of them were in conflict with one another over status and influence.In short,Webster offers no "one theory" explain it all solution,but numerous interconnected reasons for the collapse.
Alot of these Mayan cities reached populations that could have been as high as 20,000 then suddenly became more or less,"ghost towns".So what happened according to Webster. He basically says that Mayan agrarian success set the stage for the collapse.The populations of these cities grew to a point where the agrarian economy could not support the urban and outlying residents.As it was,the Mayan cities were "very fragile economies" and as the population grew,nevermind a megadrought,just a simple one month drought could be devastating.Remember the Mayan did not have the plow,or the wheel,and was strictly labor intensive.Webster invests alot of effort in describing what agrarian technologies the Mayans had and which techniques they were sadly lacking in.If you're looking for a simple one theory explanation,this wouldn't be your book.Simply put the Mayan peasantry lost faith in their warrior/priests and left the cities abandoned as they could no longer support a growing urban population.I take it from reading Websters book that "no tears were shed" in regret as they packed up with their empty bellies.While it doesn't say so in the book,I figure that the ecological refugees took along the "best" of the urban culture,such as the art,medicine,and rituals and discarded alot of practices they disagreed with.Thereby,moving into a new phase.I've heard this same phrase so many times to explain a lost civilization.They're never "lost" but just move into another phase,hopefully a better one!