32 

 Ramos, 1939 [cited in Villa Rojas, 1987]; Lothrop, 1924; Pollock, 1940). Recent archeological 

 studies, however, have challenged traditional views of a cultural elite supported by simple fanners and 

 concluded that the Maya had well-populated cities supported in part by intensive horticulture (Sabloff, 

 1991). 



Anthropologists have desaibed the dynamic nature of Maya daily life. Maya grammars and 

 ethnographies, for example, have described a culturally rich people with a written language and 

 extensive knowledge of useful plants and animals around their villages (Gann, 1918, 1926, 1935; 

 Morley, 1927, 1938, 1956; Redfield and Villa Rojas, 1962; Steggerda, 1941; Thompson, 1930; 

 Tozzer, 1907, 1921; Villa Rojas, 1969, 1987). In addition, the Maya have adapted traditional 

 horticultural practices to new environmental conditions as they occupy new areas (e.g., Guatemala; 

 Carter, 1969). Studies also have shown that Maya women are taking a more active role in the political 

 and economic aspects of daily life (Elmendorf, 1976). These examples clearly show that the vibrant 

 nature of contemporary, Maya daily life. 



In spite of the numerous accounts over the past 150 years, research results published during 

 the past 5 years are forcing investigators to rethink many of their ideas about the historical Maya 

 described from archeological sites. The traditional image of Maya culture, as indicated above, is a 

 series of elaborate ceremonial centers with a peaceful, ruling elite supported by a peasant class 

 practicing hunting, gathering, and shifting cultivation. New interpretations of hieroglyphic inscriptions 

 suggest that the Maya engaged in extensive armed conflict (Marcus, 1991; Scheie, 1991). Other 

 studies have confirmed the presence of complex cities, intensive horticulture, and sophisticated religious 

 symbolism (Hansen, 1991; Rice, 1991; Tolstoy, 1991). This has lead to an expanded view of the 

 historical Maya culture that now appreciates the role and activities of the elite, as well as the nonelite, 

 in daily life and recognizes that the historical Maya were able to manipulate their environment in order 

 to sustain intensive horticulture and avoid environmental degradation (Andrews, 1991; Harlow, 1991; 

 Sabloff, 1991; Turner, 1991). 



