This presentation begins with a brief history of settlement archaeology, with emphasis on its principal methods and theoretical underpinnings. A consideration of the development of this specific mode of inquiry in relation to the archaic states of the ancient Maya then serves to illustrate its utility for expanding our perspective beyond elite-focused inscriptions, artistic expressions, and monumental architecture. Contemplation of the extensive use of settlement archaeology by Mayanists provides an entry point for a critical consideration of the comparatively limited role that settlement archaeology has played in the study of the pre-industrial states of South and Southeast Asia, especially when it comes to investigating the habitation sites of the commoner segment of the population. It is argued that the perpetual underdevelopment of settlement archaeology, and specifically the failure to generate comprehensive, empirical data sets representing the diverse support populations of these early state formations, means that our interpretations continue to be biased towards the upper echelons of society. Although recent macroscale remote sensing programs and sophisticated computer analyses have generated relevant insights concerning the significance of the ground plans of urban centers and their immediate surroundings, these coarse-grained studies have also unintentionally drawn scholarly interest even further away from the much-needed micro-scale excavation of suburban, peri-urban, and rural occupation loci. Representing the largest, and most diverse segment of the population, such sites contain the precise types of fine-grained data that are needed to generate a bottom-up perspective on daily life in the ancient societies we are so captivated by.