How the Maya built their world : energetics and ancient architecture / Elliot M. Abrams.

Main entry:

Abrams, Elliot Marc, 1954-

Title & Author:

How the Maya built their world : energetics and ancient architecture / Elliot M. Abrams.

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 1994.

Description:

xiii, 176 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 151-168) and index.
1. Introduction -- 2. Background to Architectural Energetics at Copan -- 3. Maya Architectural Forms -- 4. The Energetics of Construction -- 5. Costs and the Construction Process -- 6. Energetics and the Hierarchy of Social Power -- 7. The Organization of Construction Labor -- 8. Architecture and Economics -- 9. Conclusions -- Appendix A. Costs per Task per Structure -- Appendix B. Reuse Savings.

Summary:

Maya architecture is often described as "massive" and "monumental," but experiments at Copan, Honduras, convinced Elliot Abrams that 300 people could have built one of the large palaces there in only 100 days. In this groundbreaking work, Abrams explicates his theory of architectural energetics, which involves translating structures into volumes of raw and manufactured materials that are then multiplied by the time required for their production and assembly to determine the labor costs of past construction efforts. Applying this method to residential structures of the Late Classic period (A.D. 700-900) at Copan leads Abrams to posit a six-tiered hierarchic social structure of political decision making, ranging from a stratified elite to low-ranking commoners. By comparing the labor costs of construction and other economic activities, he also prompts a reconsideration of the effects of royal construction demands on commoners.

Resources:
Table of contents
Publisher description

ISBN:

0292704615 (cloth ; alk. paper)
9780292704619 (cloth ; alk. paper)
0292704623 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
9780292704626 (pbk. ; alk. paper)

Subject:

Maya architecture.
City planning Honduras.
Urban Mayas.
Mayas Antiquities.
Arquitectura maya
Mayas Antigüedades
Arqueología Maya
Architecture maya.
Urbanisme Honduras Cartes.
Mayas Villes.
Mayas Antiquités.
Antiquities
City planning
Ausgrabung
Architektur
Stadtplanung
Mayas Résidences et lieux familiers.
Mayas Urbanisme.
Copán Site (Honduras)
Honduras Antiquities.
Copán (Honduras : Site archéologique)
Honduras Antiquités.
Honduras
Honduras Copán Site
Copán (Honduras ; site archéologique)
Maya.
Mayas Urban residence

Holdings:

Location: Library main 108383
Call No.: ID F1435.1.C7.A26; ID:94-B2991
Status: Available

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