Book Reviews

sociopolitical institutions with a goal of understanding general behavioral ‘laws’ behind cultural development;’’ instead, we should focus ‘‘on the history of people and places’’ [p. 8]. This theoretical stance arises from the continued reaction against both processual archaeology (in as much as processual archaeology can be considered a search for laws), and the longstanding practice of categorizing human social development into a series of classes (which have occasionally been considered to be evolutionary stages). Following Yoffee and Pauketat, Estrada-Belli focuses on an approach influenced by the adoption of agency theory by archaeologists, wherein the individual is emphasized in contrast to the collective societal institution. This approach, while in many ways informative, contrasts problematically with Estrada-Belli’s emphasis on civilization. The focus on people and places combined with a focus on the material traits of civilization results in a book that places a great deal of emphasis on the elites at the expense of other members of society. Indeed, much of the book focuses on topics that are explicitly elite in nature, such as the emergence of royal burial practices, the controlled layout of monumental architecture, and the use of elaborate iconography and writing systems in public monuments. By contrast, there is virtually no discussion of topics such as residential architecture, subsistence activities, or other basics of economy such as trade and exchange. As a result, the reader receives a narrow view of Preclassic Maya culture: the view of those who controlled it. Estrada-Belli’s focus on complex culture also results in limited coverage of the Early and Middle Preclassic Maya. The degree of complexity needed to meet the definition of ‘‘civilization’’ does not fully develop until the Late Preclassic period, and thus the Trustees of Boston University 2011 DOI 10.1179/009346911X13140904796094 Journal of Field Archaeology 2011 VOL. 36 NO. 4 341 earlier dynamic periods of growth and development receive less attention. Estrada-Belli provides coverage of the recent dynamic developments with regard to the earliest known pottery from the Maya region (e.g., Awe 1992; Callaghan 2006; Cheetham 2005), but little is said about the burgeoning growth of populations in the Middle Preclassic and the cultural variability and experimentation with forms of sociopolitical complexity that occurred at that time (e.g., Anderson et al. in press; Brown and Garber 2005; Clark and Hansen 2001; Peniche May et al. 2009). The book’s coverage of Preclassic Maya culture is also limited geographically, focusing primarily on the Peten jungle of northern Guatemala, thereby underemphasizing the northern Maya lowlands as well as the Maya highlands. The majority of examples discussed within the book derive from the sites of Cival, El Mirador, and Tikal, all of which are located within the northwestern Peten. The Peten has long been considered the ‘‘heartland’’ of Maya culture (e.g., Rathje 1971), but scholars are becoming increasingly aware that significant cultural developments also occurred in other areas within the Maya region (e.g., Bey III 2006). Estrada-Belli [p. 112] does note that some of the earliest examples of Maya writing and sculpture are found in highland Guatemala, but virtually no mention is made of the expansive Middle and Late Preclassic populations now known to have existed in the northern lowlands (Anderson et al. in press; Andrews IV and Andrews V 1980; Andrews V 1990; Gallareta Negrón and May Ciau 2007; Glover et al. 2005; Ringle and Andrews V 1990; Rissolo et al. 2005; Stanton and Ardren 2005). Suffice it to say, as a reader, I would have preferred to see Estrada-Belli write a book that was more broadly focused on the entirety of Preclassic Maya culture. Such a book would have provided a more balanced introduction to the subject of Preclassic Maya archaeology. Still, the book he has given us presents a detailed and thought-provoking description of the elite Maya rulers of the Peten during the earliest stages of Maya civilization. There is no doubt that Estrada-Belli’s central conclusions are correct. The Preclassic Maya had a long and complex culture history unique to the Maya region. These people were not simple farmers living in scattered villages, but rather they were the creators of many of the cultural and architectural traditions adopted by the Classic Maya. It is exciting to see the new and burgeoning world of Preclassic Maya studies come together in a monograph, and I look forward to watching this field continue to grow.