The Ancient Maya Marketplace

The Archaeology of Transient Space

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology
Cover of the book The Ancient Maya Marketplace by , University of Arizona Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780816532179
Publisher: University of Arizona Press Publication: November 12, 2015
Imprint: University of Arizona Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780816532179
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Publication: November 12, 2015
Imprint: University of Arizona Press
Language: English

Trading was the favorite occupation of the Maya, according to early Spanish observers such as Fray Diego de Landa (1566). Yet scholars of the Maya have long dismissed trade—specifically, market exchange—as unimportant. They argue that the Maya subsisted primarily on agriculture, with long-distance trade playing a minor role in a largely non-commercialized economy.

The Ancient Maya Marketplace reviews the debate on Maya markets and offers compelling new evidence for the existence and identification of ancient marketplaces in the Maya Lowlands. Its authors rethink the prevailing views about Maya economic organization and offer new perspectives. They attribute the dearth of Maya market research to two factors: persistent assumptions that Maya society and its rainforest environment lacked complexity, and an absence of physical evidence for marketplaces—a problem that plagues market research around the world.

Many Mayanists now agree that no site was self-sufficient, and that from the earliest times robust local and regional exchange existed alongside long-distance trade. Contributors to this volume suggest that marketplaces, the physical spaces signifying the presence of a market economy, did not exist for purely economic reasons but served to exchange information and create social ties as well.

The Ancient Maya Marketplace offers concrete links between Maya archaeology, ethnohistory, and contemporary cultures. Its in-depth review of current research will help future investigators to recognize and document marketplaces as a long-standing Maya cultural practice. The volume also provides detailed comparative data for premodern societies elsewhere in the world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Trading was the favorite occupation of the Maya, according to early Spanish observers such as Fray Diego de Landa (1566). Yet scholars of the Maya have long dismissed trade—specifically, market exchange—as unimportant. They argue that the Maya subsisted primarily on agriculture, with long-distance trade playing a minor role in a largely non-commercialized economy.

The Ancient Maya Marketplace reviews the debate on Maya markets and offers compelling new evidence for the existence and identification of ancient marketplaces in the Maya Lowlands. Its authors rethink the prevailing views about Maya economic organization and offer new perspectives. They attribute the dearth of Maya market research to two factors: persistent assumptions that Maya society and its rainforest environment lacked complexity, and an absence of physical evidence for marketplaces—a problem that plagues market research around the world.

Many Mayanists now agree that no site was self-sufficient, and that from the earliest times robust local and regional exchange existed alongside long-distance trade. Contributors to this volume suggest that marketplaces, the physical spaces signifying the presence of a market economy, did not exist for purely economic reasons but served to exchange information and create social ties as well.

The Ancient Maya Marketplace offers concrete links between Maya archaeology, ethnohistory, and contemporary cultures. Its in-depth review of current research will help future investigators to recognize and document marketplaces as a long-standing Maya cultural practice. The volume also provides detailed comparative data for premodern societies elsewhere in the world.

More books from University of Arizona Press

Cover of the book Ancestral Hopi Migrations by
Cover of the book Mo by
Cover of the book Myths and Tales of the White Mountain Apache by
Cover of the book The American Café by
Cover of the book Uncharted Terrains by
Cover of the book No Species Is an Island by
Cover of the book From Tribute to Communal Sovereignty by
Cover of the book Landscapes of Freedom by
Cover of the book Crafting History in the Northern Plains by
Cover of the book Colonial Itineraries of Contemporary Mexico by
Cover of the book Engendering Households in the Prehistoric Southwest by
Cover of the book Soul Over Lightning by
Cover of the book The Learned Ones by
Cover of the book American Indian Medicine Ways by
Cover of the book Mapping Wonderlands by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy