El Per-Waka'

Recent research and discoveries at a prominent Maya rainforest city This volume presents the most current research on the ancient Maya city El Per-Waka, or Kingdom of the Centipede. Located in the Laguna del Tigre National Park of Guatemala, this city has been a major focus of recent archaeological inquiry, which has uncovered a long occupation at the site spanning from 300 BC to 1000 CE. The chapters in El Per-Waka examine the Maya who lived here and the rainforest city they built, complete with its pyramids, palaces, temples, roads, reservoirs, and residences. Contributors reconstruct urban settlement patterns, look at health and dietary differences between elites and commoners, and analyze epigraphs and art, among other topics. The book includes a detailed discussion of the tomb of the citys famous queen, Lady Kabel, showing that the queens choice to be interred within Wakas most prominent dynastic monument demonstrates the power of Maya royal women to not only direct political discourse during their lives but also impact the reigns of their successors. The evidence in this volume indicates the citys importance in the political and ritual landscape of the Maya Lowlands, and with the sites long record of habitation and dense population, this book offers researchers an unmatched view of ancient life in a tropical urban environment. A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase