This is the first book to examine the roles of plazas in ancient Mesoamerica. It argues persuasively that physical interactions among people in communal events were not the outcomes of political machinations held behind the scenes, but were the actual political processes through which people created, negotiated, and subverted social realities.

Kenichiro Tsukamoto is a PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of Arizona. He is co-director of the El Palmar Archaeological Project. His project has been sponsored by the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and American Philosophical Society.

Takeshi Inomata is a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona. He is the author of several books, including Burned Palaces and Elite Residences of Aguateca: Excavations and Ceramics.