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"Leading archaeologists present the most recent evidence on a complex of architecture, iconography, and artifacts closely linked to the rise of the divine kingships of the ancient Maya. An important volume for anyone interested in the rise of ancient states."-Arthur Demarest, author of The Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization "E Groups have proven to be older, more complex, and more variable than we might have anticipated even a generation ago. New data presented and interpreted here will inform the next generation of researchers and enthrall Maya enthusiasts everywhere."-Debra Walker, editor of Perspectives on the Ancient Maya of Chetumal Bay In ancient Maya cities, "E Groups" are sets of buildings aligned with the movements of the sun. This volume presents new archaeological data to reveal that E Groups were constructed earlier than previously thought-in fact, they are the earliest identifiable architectural plan at many Maya settlements. More than just astronomical observatories or calendars, E Groups were gathering places for emerging communities and centers of ritual: the very first civic-religious public architecture in the Maya lowlands. Investigating a wide variety of E Group sites in different contexts, this volume pieces together the development of social and political complexity in the ancient Maya civilization. A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase.