Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings

Maya kings who failed to ensure the prosperity of their kingdoms were
subject to various forms of termination, including the ritual defacing
and destruction of monuments and even violent death. This is the first
comprehensive volume to focus on the varied responses to the failure of
Classic period dynasties in the southern lowlands. The contributors
offer new insights into the Maya "collapse," evaluating the trope of the
scapegoat king and the demise of the traditional institution of
kingship in the early ninth century AD--a time of intense environmental,
economic, social, political, and even ideological change.