El Perú-Waka’: New Archaeological Perspectives on the Kingdom of the Centipede

Recent research and discoveries at a
prominent Maya rainforest city

This volume presents
the most current research on the ancient Maya city El Perú-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 Perú-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 epigraphy and art, among other topics.
The book includes a detailed discussion of the tomb of the city’s famous queen,
Lady K’abel, showing that the queen’s choice to be interred within Waka’s 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 city’s importance in the political and
ritual landscape of the Maya Lowlands, and with the site’s long record of
habitation and dense population, this book offers researchers an unmatched view
of ancient life in a tropical urban environment.

Contributors: Matthew
C. Ricker Damien B. Marken Juan Carlos Pérez Diana N. Fridberg Olivia
C. Navarro-Farr Sarah Van Oss David Freidel Griselda Pérez Robles Elsa
Damaris Menéndez Mary Kate Kelly Erin E. Patterson Michelle Rich Keith
Eppich

A
volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase