The Real Business Of Ancient Maya Economies: From Farmers’ Fields To Rulers’ Realms (maya Studies)

A timely synthesis of the latest research and perspectives on ancient Maya economics, this volume illuminates the sophistication and intricacy of economic systems in the Preclassic period, Classic period, and Postclassic period. Contributors from a wide range of disciplines move beyond paradigms of elite control and centralized exchange to focus on individual agency, highlighting production and exchange that took place at all levels of society. Case studies draw on new archaeological evidence from rural households and urban marketplaces to reconstruct the trade networks for tools, ceramics, obsidian, salt, and agricultural goods throughout the empire. They also describe the ways household production integrated with community, regional, and interregional markets. Redirecting the field of ancient Maya economic studies away from simplistic characterizations of the past by fully representing the range of current views on the subject, this volume delves deeply into multiple facets of a complex, interdependent material world. Part I. Theoretical Approaches -- Nuts, Bolts, And Bridges: Some Reflections / David A. Freidel -- Modeling Maya Markets / Eleanor King -- A New Direction In The Study Of Ancient Maya Economics: Language, Logic, And Models From Strategic Management Studies / Arthur A. Demarest, Bart Victor, Chloe Andrieu, And Paola Torres -- Part Ii. Household And Community Economies And Resources -- Understanding Variability In Distribution And Consumption In Low-wealth Households From The Classic Period / Scott Hutson -- Rural Economies At Agrarian Houselots Before And After The Rise Of Urban Mayapan / Marilyn Masson, Carlos Peraza Lope, Timothy Hare, Bradley Russell, Pedro -- Delgado K, Barbara Escamilla Ojeda, And Luis Flores Cob -- Stone For My House: The Economics Of Stoneworking And Elite Housing In The Puuc Hills Of Yucatan / William Ringle, Tom S Gallareta Negron, And George Bey -- Chert Resource Availability, Production, And Economic Logic: Case Studies From The Northwestern Peten, Guatemala, And Western Belize / Rachel Horowitz, Marcello Canuto And Chloe Andrieu -- The Ancient Maya Economic Landscape Of Caracol, Belize / Diane Z. Chase And Arlen F. Chase -- Commerce, Autarky, Barter, And Redistribution: The Multi-tiered Urban Economy Of El Peru-waka?, Guatemala / Keith Eppich -- Large-scale Production Of Basic Commodities At Salinas De Los Nueve Cerros, Guatemala: Implications For Ancient Maya Political Economy / Brent Woodfill -- Part Iii. Agriculture, Climate, Land -- Gardens Of The Maya / Andrew Wyatt -- Yucatan Land And Labor Before And After Spanish Incursions / Adolfo Ivan Baten Alpuche, Patricia A. Mcanany And Maia Dedrick -- Maya Cornucopia: Indigenous Food Plants Of The Maya Lowlands / Scott L. Fedick -- Service Relationships Within The Broader Economy Of Ceran, A Young Maya Village / Payson Sheets -- Part Iv. Political Elites, Wealthy Persons, And Economic Administration -- A Discrepancy Between Elite Office And Economic Status In The El Palmar Dynasty, Mexico / Kenichiro Tsukamoto -- Bundling The Sticks: Tallies In Classic Maya Inscriptions / Alexandre Tokovinine -- Maya Economic Organization And Power: Elite Households At Aguateca / Daniela Triadan And Takeshi Inomata -- Part V. Economic Exchange Spheres: Routes, Facilities, And Symbolic Contexts -- Economic Interaction And The Rise Of Socio-political Complexity In The Maya Lowlands: The Case From The Mirador Basin / Richard Hansen, Edgar Suyuc, Stanley Guenter, Carlos Morales-aguilar, Enrique -- Hernandez, And Beatriz Balcarcel -- The Contents, Roles, And Meanings Of Tribute Among The Classic Maya / Dorie Reents-budet And Ronald Bishop -- The Political Geography Of Long-distance Exchange In The Elevated Interior Region Of The Yucatan Peninsula / Beniamino Volta, Joel D. Gunn, Lynda Florey Folan, William J. Folan, And -- Geoffrey E. Braswell -- An Intracoastal Waterway And Trading Port System In Prehispanic Northwest Yucatan, Mexico / Fernando Robles Castellanos, Anthony P. Andrews, And Ruben Chuc Aquilar -- The Difference A Marketplace Makes: A View Of Maya Market Exchange From The Late Classic Buenavista Del Cayo Marketplace / Bernadette Cap -- Decentralizing The Economies Of The Maya West / Charles Golden, Andrew Scherer, Whittaker Schroder, Clive Vella, And Alejandra Roche Recinos -- A Stone Duty? Flake Ritual Deposits And The Missing Workshops Of The Maya Lowlands / Chloe Andrieu -- Terminal Classic Interactions Between The Western Peten Lakes Chain And The Western Lowlands / Prudence Rice -- Maya Economics: Through A Glass, Sideways (one More Time) / Norman Yoffee -- Conclusion: The Ties That Bind / Marilyn Masson -- Appendix. Indigenous Food Plants Of The Maya Lowlands / Scott L. Fedick Edited By Marilyn A. Masson, David A. Freidel, And Arthur A. Demarest. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Electronic Reproduction. Baltimore, Md Available Via World Wide Web. Cover 1 The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 14 Foreword 16 List of Abbreviations 20 PART I. THEORETICAL APPROACHES 22 1. Nuts, Bolts, and Bridges: Some Reflections 24 2. Modeling Maya Markets 35 3. A New Direction in the Study of Ancient Maya Economics: Language, Logic, and Models from Strategic Management Studies 49 PART II. HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY ECONOMIES AND RESOURCES 76 4. Similar Markets, Different Economies: Comparing Small Households at Tikal and Chunchucmil 78 5. Rural Economies of Agrarian Houselots before and after the Rise of Urban Mayapán 100 6. Stone for My House: The Economics of Stoneworking and Elite Housing in the Puuc Hills of Yucatán 119 7. Chert Resource Availability, Production, and Economic Logic: Case Studies from the Northwestern Petén, Guatemala, and Western Belize 138 8. The Ancient Maya Economic Landscape of Caracol, Belize 153 9. Commerce, Redistribution, Autarky, and Barter: The Multitiered Urban Economy of El Perú–Waka’, Guatemala 170 10. Large-Scale Production of Basic Commodities at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros, Guatemala: Implications for Ancient Maya Political Economy 193 PART III. AGRICULTURE, CLIMATE, LAND 206 11. Gardens of the Maya 208 12. Yucatec Land and Labor before and after Spanish Incursions 231 13. Maya Cornucopia: Indigenous Food Plants of the Maya Lowlands 245 14. Service Relationships within the Broader Economy of Cerén, a Young Maya Village 259 PART IV. POLITICAL ELITES, WEALTHY PERSONS, AND ECONOMIC ADMINISTRATION 278 15. A Discrepancy between Elite Office and Economic Status in the El Palmar Dynasty: A View from the Guzmán Group of El Palmar, Mexico 280 16. Bundling the Sticks: A Case for Classic Maya Tallies 297 17. Maya Economic Organization and Power: A View from Elite Households at Aguateca 317 PART V. ECONOMIC EXCHANGE SPHERES: ROUTES, FACILITIES, AND SYMBOLIC CONTEXTS 336 18. Economic Interactions and the Rise of Sociopolitical Complexity in the Maya Lowlands: A Perspective from the Mirador-Calakmul Basin 338 19. Classic Maya Interaction Networks and the Production and Consumption of Cotton Fiber and Textiles 361 20. The Political Geography of Long-Distance Exchange in the Elevated Interior Region of the Yucatán Peninsula 373 21. An Intracoastal Waterway and Trading Port System in Prehispanic Northwest Yucatán, Mexico 389 22. The Difference a Marketplace Makes: A View of Maya Market Exchange from the Late Classic Buenavista del Cayo Marketplace 408 23. Decentralizing the Economies of the Maya West 424 24. A Stone Duty? Flake Ritual Deposits and the Missing Workshops of the Maya Lowlands 439 25. Terminal Classic Interactions between the Western Petén Lakes Chain and the Western Lowlands 455 26. Maya Economics: Through a Glass, Sideways (One More Time) 472 27. Conclusion: The Ties That Bind 485 Appendix: Indigenous Food Plants of the Maya Lowlands 509 Bibliography 538 List of Contributors 628 Index 632 A timely synthesis of the latest research and perspectives on ancient Maya economics, this volume illuminates the sophistication and intricacy of economic systems in the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. Contributors from a wide range of disciplines move beyond paradigms of elite control and centralized exchange to focus on individual agency, highlighting production and exchange that took place at all levels of society. Case studies draw on new archaeological evidence from rural households and urban marketplaces to reconstruct the trade networks for tools, ceramics, obsidian, salt, and agricultural goods throughout the empire. They also describe the ways household production integrated with community, regional, and interregional markets. Redirecting the field of ancient Maya economic studies away from simplistic characterizations of the past by fully representing the range of current views on the subject, this volume delves deeply into multiple facets of a complex, interdependent material world. Contributors: Anthony P. Andrews | Chloé Andrieu | Beatriz Balcárcel | Adolfo Iván Batún | George Bey | Ronald L. Bishop | Geoffrey E. Braswell | Marcello Canuto | Bernadette Cap | Arlen F. Chase | Diane Z. Chase | Rubén Chuc Aguilar | Maia Dedrick | Pedro Delgado Kú, | Arthur A. Demarest | Keith Eppich | Bárbara Escamilla Ojeda | Scott L. Fedick | Luis Flores Cobá | Lynda Florey Folan | William J. Folan | David A. Freidel | Tomás Gallareta Negrón | Charles Golden | Stanley P. Guenter | Joel D. Gunn | Richard D. Hansen | Timothy S. Hare | Enrique Hernández | Rachel A. Horowitz | Scott R. Hutson | Takeshi Inomata | Eleanor M. King | Marilyn A. Masson | Patricia A. McAnany | Carlos Morales-Aguilar | Carlos Peraza Lope | Dorie Reents-Budet | Prudence M. Rice | William Ringle | Fernando Robles Castellanos | Alejandra Roche Recinos| Bradley W. Russell | Andrew Scherer | Whittaker Schroder | Payson Sheets | Edgar Suyuc | Alexandre Tokovinine | Paola Torres | Daniela Triadan | Kenichiro Tsukamoto | Clive Vella | Bart Victor | Beniamino Volta | Brent K. S. Woodfill | Andrew R. Wyatt | Norman Yoffee A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase "A timely synthesis of the latest research and perspectives on ancient Maya economics, this volume illuminates the sophistication and complexity of economic systems in the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. Fully representing the range of current views on the subject, these essays delve deeply into multiple facets of a complex, interdependent material world"-- Provided by publisher