The contributors to this book scrutinize the data, survey external influences on the early Maya, and consider economics, ecology, demography, and warfare - as well as social and ideological factors - in explaining the transformation of Maya culture from a village-oriented society to one centered on elite classes living in large civic centers with monumental architecture. Richard E. W. Adams received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University. He has over 37 years of field work experience in the Maya area. He is author and editor of twelve books and author and co-author of ninety-five papers. He is past president of the Society for American Archaeology, resident fellow at the Rockefeller Study Foundation, Bellagio, and overseas fellow at Cambridge University. His most recent field work is in the Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize. Adams is a professor at the University of Texas, San Antonio, director of the Rio Azul Archaeological Project and Programme for the Belize Regional Project.