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How the Maya Built Their World : Energetics and Ancient Architecture / Elliot M. Abrams.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Austin : University of Texas Press, [2021]Copyright date: ©1994Description: 1 online resource (192 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780292730144
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 338.4/769/00972838409021 20
LOC classification:
  • F1435.1.C7 A26 1994
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Preface -- 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 -- References -- Index
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. How the Maya Built Their World will interest a wide audience in New and Old World anthropology, archaeology, architecture, and engineering.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780292730144

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Preface -- 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 -- References -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

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. How the Maya Built Their World will interest a wide audience in New and Old World anthropology, archaeology, architecture, and engineering.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 29. Jun 2022)