Ceramics, Production, and Exchange in the Petexbatun Region—The Economic Parameters of the Classic Maya Collapse

The Classic Maya collapse has engendered a great deal of debate over the last decades. This collapse was a highly variable phenomenon that did not affect the whole Maya zone, so the specific events and processes taking place in different regions affected by this "transition" need further exploration. This volume examines the economic parameters of the collapse in the Petexbatun region from the eighth through the eleventh centuries A.D. through the lens of ceramic manufacture, production, consumption, and exchange. It explores this critical time period through ceramic analysis, including type:variety classification, standardization studies, and chemical provenance research.

These ceramic data are then used to reevaluate different models explaining the Classic Maya collapse--the foreign invasion theory, the commercialization hypothesis, and the internal warfare model. The authors conclude that the internal warfare model has the most support.