Innovation causes change. Indeed, modern Western societies see it as a crucial asset to advance. But can it also explain change in ancient societies? This book approaches material change as a crucial component of innovation; that is, the materialization of ideas that become widely adopted. Individuals exercise their agency not only to maintain society but also to cause change through inventions. Here, a symbolic approach is developed to conceptualize their creativity. Metonyms and metaphors link knowledge domains in novel but incomplete ways that imply a meta-discourse on knowledge. Their awar ... More

Innovation causes change. Indeed, modern Western societies see it as a crucial asset to advance. But can it also explain change in ancient societies? This book approaches material change as a crucial component of innovation; that is, the materialization of ideas that become widely adopted. Individuals exercise their agency not only to maintain society but also to cause change through inventions. Here, a symbolic approach is developed to conceptualize their creativity. Metonyms and metaphors link knowledge domains in novel but incomplete ways that imply a meta-discourse on knowledge. Their awareness allows individuals to imagine alternative worlds and trace a coherent path of action through this Garden of Forking Paths. The material nature of inventions exhibits interaction and adoption publicly. Individual decision-making interweaves and the resulting interferences map structural changes in society. The often-long course of existence of ancient societies allows us to trace where and when inventions emerged and how individuals adopted them. Nonetheless, evolutionary approaches to innovation often privilege Western technology and streamline past material diversity into a discourse on modernity. They ignore how inventions serve culture-specific needs and follow cultural logic. Therefore, this book focuses on Central America’s Classic Maya (A.D. 250–900). It discusses innovation for a diverse society—ranging from divine rulers to farmers—that continually changed over centuries.