
War Owl Falling
Innovation, Creativity, and Culture Change in Ancient Maya Society
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
An archaeological exploration of the role of creativity and invention in the ancient Maya civilization
Drawing on archaeological findings from the Maya lowlands, War Owl Falling shows how innovation and creativity led to social change in ancient societies. Markus Eberl discusses the ways eighth-century Maya (and Maya commoners in particular) reinvented objects and signs that were associated with nobility, including scepters, ceramic vessels, ballgame equipment, and the symbol of the owl. These innovations, he argues, reflect assertions of independence and a redistribution of power that contributed to the Maya collapse in the Late Classic period.
Eberl emphasizes that decision-making—the ability to imagine alternate worlds and to act on that vision—plays a large role in changing social structure over time. Contextualizing these decisions in his "Garden of Forking Paths" model, Eberl shows how innovators were those individuals who imagined an array of possible futures and negotiated power to reach desirable outcomes. He dissects the social underpinning of Maya creativity by illustrating their situated method of learning via observation and imitation, stressing that societal constraints or opportunities dictated whether members' ideas were realized. Pinpointing where and when Maya inventions emerged, how individuals adopted them and why, War Owl Falling connects technological and social change in a novel way.
A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. ChaseFrequently asked questions
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Flower Mountain Revealed: Innovation and Social Change in Ancient Societies
- 2. Wings for Hummingbirds to Fly With: Creativity as a Play of Symbols
- 3. Itzamnaaj’s Court: Creativity Embedded in Social Opportunity Structures
- 4. Bleibt Alles Anders: Modeling Invention
- 5. A Ruler Just Like Me: Status, Power, and Innovation
- 6. Stillman Wanders, Babel Rises: Innovation’s Impact on Structures
- 7. Names of the Owl: Exploring Creativity and Innovation
- Notes
- References Cited
- Index
- About the Author
- Maya and Mesoamerican Studies