Abstract
This chapter is concerned with the problem of political collapse of the Classic period (ca. AD 250–900) Maya kingdoms of the western lowlands, a region that includes the extreme western edge of the Peten, Guatemala, northeastern Chiapas, Mexico, and much of Tabasco, Mexico. During the Classic period this area was home to a number of dynastic polities including those centered on Palenque, Piedras Negras, Yaxchilan, Tonina, Pomona, and Sak Tz’i’ (tentatively linked to the archaeological site of Plan de Ayutla), among others (Figure 10.1). The central question of this edited volume is whether various political and demographic upheavals of