Three Families: Genealogies and Processes among the Sixteenth-Century Kaqchikel Maya Available to Purchase

The new political offices introduced after the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica created new challenges and opportunities for indigenous elites and their supporters. This article traces the careers of three Kaqchikel-Maya families in sixteenth-century Guatemala and reveals a range of concerns about and strategies for maintaining and enhancing aspects of their preconquest social status.