Ancient Maya Political Economies

by Masson, Marilyn A.; Freidel, David A.; RATHJE, WILLIAM L.; REESE-TAYLOR, KATHRYN; MORA MARIN, AND DAVID; AND DEBRA S. WALKER, KATHRYN REESE-TAYLOR; McAnany, Patricia A.; THOMAS, BEN S.; MORANDI, STEVEN; PETERSON, POLLY A.; HARRISON, AND ELEANOR; WEST, GEO

• ISBN13: 9780759100800
• ISBN10: 0759100802
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-08-15
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

Ancient Maya Political Economies examines variation in systems of economic production and exchange and how these systems supported the power networks that integrated Maya society. Chapters in this book take a hard look at existing models of elite exchange and tribute and address the difficult question of how the flow of utilitarian goods supported Maya kingdoms and their ruling classes. Using models originally developed by William L. Rathje, the authors explore core-periphery relations, the use of household analysis to reconstruct political economy, and evidence for market development. In doing so, they challenge the conventional wisdom of decentralized Maya political authority and replace it with a more complex view of the political economic foundations of Maya civilization.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
David A. Freidel
Introduction	1	(30)
Marilyn A. Masson
The Nouveau Elite Potlatch: One Scenario for the Monumental Rise of Early Civilizations	31	(10)
William L. Rathje
The Origins of Maya Civilization: The Old Shell Game, Commodity, Treasure, and Kingship	41	(46)
David A. Freidel
Kathryn Reese-Taylor
David Mora-Marin
The Passage of the Late Preclassic into the Early Classic	87	(36)
Kathryn Reese-Taylor
Debra S. Walker
Praise the Ajaw and Pass the Kakaw: Xibun Maya and the Political Economy of Cacao	123	(17)
Patricia A. McAnany
Ben S. Thomas
Steven Morandi
Polly A. Peterson
Eleanor Harrison
Ceramic Exchange in the Late Classic and Postclassic Maya Lowlands: A Diachronic Approach	140	(57)
Georgia West
Dynamics of Regional Integration in Northwestern Belize	197	(26)
Lauren A. Sullivan
At the Crossroads: The Economic Basis of Political Power in the Petexbatun Region	223	(26)
Antonia E. Foias
Modes of Exchange and Regional Patterns: Chunchucmil, Yucatan	249	(36)
Bruce H. Dahlin
Traci Ardren
Praise the Gods and Pass the Obsidian?: The Organization of Ancient Economy in San Martin Jilotepeque, Guatemala	285	(22)
Geoffrey E. Braswell
New Perspectives on the Prehispanic Maya Salt Trade	307	(28)
Anthony P. Andrews
Shirley B. Mock
Community Economy and the Mercantile Transformation in Postclassic Northeastern Belize	335	(30)
Marilyn A. Masson
In Praise of Garbage: Historical Archaeology, Households, and the Maya Political Economy	365	(33)
Craig A. Hanson
Perspectives on Economy and Theory	398	(21)
Elizabeth Graham
Index	419	(14)
About the Authors	433