Marken has selected essays that not only give the reader an intimate portrait of what Palenque looks like today, but also how it must have looked when it was a bustling metropolis. More important, these essays serve to provide the reader with a detailed analysis of the archaeological work now being done at Palenque, and how this research has added to our understanding of the city, as well as Maya history and culture...Essential reading for anyone with an interest in Palenque, or ancient Maya history or culture. It serves as an excellent reference book on the city, and is well suited for use as a supplemental text in both university level archaeology and anthropology courses dealing with ancient Mesoamerican studies.

History In Review

A major contribution to Maya archaeology; of lasting value for research library collections. Summing Up: Essential.

Choice Reviews

This is a very important contribution to Maya archaeology, and indispensable reading for anyone interested in Palenque. It makes available a great deal of new information from recent and on-going research at one of the most famous of all Classic Maya sites.

Robert J. Sharer, University of Pennsylvania

Palenque is that rarest of ruins: an ancient city that, through text, image, and architecture, tells us a vibrant story of dynastic glory and decay. With this volume, Damien Marken brings the latest scholarship on Palenque to wider notice and tells that story as never before. A group of specialists, both established and new, come together to reveal new truths about Palenque. Readers learn of the city's earliest years, its explosive growth into the countryside as Palenque gathers momentum, its elaborate, continuous development of a local theology, and the results of recent mapping that point to fruitful places for further work. This edited book is a landmark, a reference for all future work at this most princely and refined of Maya cities.

Stephen Houston, Brown University, Department of Anthropology

Damien Marken's edited book is valuable in that it draws together this latest generation of research…. An exceptionally useful case study.

Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute