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Living Between Worlds

Living Between Worlds

Name: Living Between Worlds
Author: Megan E. Leight
ISBN: 9780817362386

Archaeology and History at the Southern Edge of the Maya Lowlands

Edited by Megan E. Leight and Brent K. S. Woodfill

Contributions by Chloé Andrieu, Claudia Arriaza, Carlos Avendaño, Juan Carlos Berrio, Mónica María Cajas Castillo, Edgar H. Carpio Rezzio, Sharon A. Cowling, Arthur A. Demarest, Silvia Carolina Duarte Morales, Caitlin Earley, Sarah Finkelstein, Socorro Jiménez Álvarez, Megan E. Leight, Mark W. Lentz, Nora Machuca Mejía, Diana Méndez Lee, Claudia L. M. Morales-Flores, Jorge Mario Ortíz de León, Alexander E. Rivas, Oscar A. Rojas-Castillo, Carolina Rosales de Zea, Juan Francisco Saravia, Miryam Saravia, Erin L. Sears, Rosa Delfina Sunum Orellana, Paola Torres, Ramiro Tox, Carlos Fidel Tuyuc Nij, Ruud van Akkeren, Marc Wolf, Ulrich Wölfel and Brent K. S. Woodfill

Published by: The University of Alabama Press

Imprint: University Alabama Press

384 Pages, 152.00 × 229.00 mm, 68 b&w figures - 15 maps

Paperback
9780817362386
Published: December 2025

£31.00

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Hardcover
9780817322564
Published: December 2025

£88.00

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

The first in-depth exploration of the narrow but vital region between the pre-Columbian Maya highlands and lowlands in Guatemala called the Northern Transversal Strip.

Living between Worlds: Archaeology and History at the Southern Edge of the Maya Lowlands is the first in-depth exploration of the narrow but vital region between the pre-Columbian Maya highlands and lowlands in Guatemala. This groundbreaking volume brings together the results of a twenty-five-year, multidisciplinary collaboration that reshapes our understanding of Maya civilization.

Long overlooked due to the absence of towering monuments and stone cities, the Northern Transversal Strip was nevertheless a hub of commerce, culture, and political interaction. Spanning multiple Classic Maya city-states, conquest-era ethnic groups, and modern geopolitical boundaries, the region played a crucial role as a transportation corridor and resource center. Archaeologists, art historians, ethnohistorians, biologists, and paleoecologists join forces in this volume to reconstruct its complex past, uncovering its deep connections to the broader Maya world.

From its role in the trade of cacao, salt, and quetzal feathers to its enduring significance through the Spanish conquest and modern conflicts, the Northern Transversal Strip emerges as a dynamic and pivotal region. Through detailed analyses of ceramics, figurines, obsidian exchange networks, and settlement patterns, this volume reveals the intricate web of interregional ties that defined the Maya civilization.

With cutting-edge research and fresh perspectives, Living Between Worlds offers a comprehensive synthesis of archaeological discoveries, historical insights, and environmental studies. By literally and metaphorically bridging the highland-lowland divide, this volume transforms how scholars and readers alike perceive this once-marginalized but essential part of the Maya world.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I: Understanding the Northern Transversal Strip

Introduction: Shining a Light on the Borderlands between the Maya Lowlands and the Guatemalan Highlands

Megan E. Leight and Brent K. S. Woodfill

1. The Key to Understanding Both Maya Lowland and Highland Ancient Political Economies: The Trajectory and Impact of Research in the Transversal Interface Region

Arthur A. Demarest

Part II: Sites, Regions, and Regional History

2. The Transversal Economic Network: Forming a Breakaway Network through Economic Benefits and Ideological Seduction

Arthur A. Demarest and Paola Torres

3. The Archaeology of the Chixoy Basin

Brent K. S. Woodfill, Caitlin Earley, and Alexander E. Rivas

4. Entre Dos Cuencas: The Chaculá Region in Northwestern Huehuetenango

Ulrich Wölfel

Part III: Interrelations and Environment

5. Ceramic Interaction in the Northern Transversal Strip during the Late Classic Period

Jorge Mario Ortíz de León, Socorro Jiménez Álvarez, Paola Torres, Claudia Arriaza, Miryam Saravia, Juan Francisco Saravia, Carlos Fidel Tuyuc Nij, and Diana Méndez Lee

6. Changing Ritual Intent in a Stone Coffer from an Unlooted Cave in Central Guatemala

Erin L. Sears

7. Not All Distance Is Kilometric: Obsidian Procurement at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros and Cancuen

Chloé Andrieu and Edgar H. Carpio Rezzio

8. The Prehispanic and Colonial Exchange of Perishable Goods in and through

the Northern Transversal Strip: Achiote, Cacao, Salt, and Exotic Feathers

Brent K. S. Woodfill, Mark W. Lentz, and Megan E. Leight

9. The Sacred, Urban Landscape of Cancuen and Salinas de los Nueve Cerros

Marc Wolf

10. Paleoecology of the Chixoy Alluvial Plains along the Northern Transversal Strip

Carlos Avendaño, Claudia L. M. Morales-Flores, Juan Carlos Berrio, Carla Paola del Cid López, Silvia Carolina Duarte Morales, Rosa Delfina Sunum Orellana, Mónica María Cajas Castillo, Nora Machuca Mejía, Sharon A. Cowling, Sarah Finkelstein, Ramiro Tox, Oscar A. Rojas-Castillo, and Carolina Rosales de Zea

11. Born in Xibalba: Kanek'-Kaweq Lineage History in the Franja Transversal del Norte

Ruud van Akkeren

Bibliography

Contributors

Index