Through the rearview mirror: Rethinking the Classic Maya Collapse in the light of Postclassic rural social transformation

Abstract

Recent studies of post-collapse regeneration of early state societies have explained the renewed growth of social complexity using the concepts of template regeneration and stimulus regeneration. While such terms are useful generalized concepts, the discussion around them in practice inhibits an understanding of the various social processes implicated in the renewed growth of states, particularly due to the primary focus on elite urban populations. Rather than emphasizing types of regeneration, my approach analyzes how agents transformed rural communities during collapse and subsequent restructuring. Utilizing a case study from the Petén Lakes region, Guatemala, the article makes the point that rural commoners must be considered active to adequately characterize regeneration. An examination of the base of society focuses on intentional choices made to change settlement patterns, architecture and stone tool procurement and usage in order to better understand heterogeneity in the Classic-Postclassic transformation of Maya society (AD 750–1200).