Archaeology

Ancient Maya power brokers lived in neighborhoods, not just palaces

Recent evidence suggests kings did not always run the show

A tower emerges from the forest around the Maya city Tikal in Guatemala.

Laser technology known as lidar and recent excavations have uncovered urban sprawl around ancient Maya city centers, such as Tikal in Guatemala.

THEPALMER/E+/Getty Images Plus

By Bruce Bower

Pots with fancifully molded eyes, noses and mouths were one of the tip-offs.

Adrian Chase already had a growing sense that Maya society wasn’t quite what it’s been traditionally portrayed as: powerful rulers reigning while powerless commoners obeyed — or perhaps lived far enough from seats of power to operate largely on their own.