THE MAYA ECONOMIC SYSTEM
We actually know very little about the Maya economic system
a. They texts don’t tell us much about the economics of the Maya
b. The key to the system is the social organization, and that is hard to get at
Theories of the Rise of Maya States
a. Maya cities arose in central heartland as a result of overland trade between Mexico
and the Caribbean
b. trade not central to the basic economy of the Maya Lowlands
c. trade and exchange important in the development and maintenance of economic system
Local products and raw materials (fruits, vegetables, lake and riverine resources, hunting,
cotton farming for cloth, limestone for tools & building&etc., local chert—“most food and
other products were probably distributed through informal exchange among extended
families or neighbors and small local markets” foodstuffs, limestone, chert
Despite the natural bounty and diversity of the rain forest and the Maya subsistence
systems, some basic products had to be obtained by families at local or regional markets.
Even full-time farming families, the vast majority of the population, relied upon exchange to
provide some pottery, salt, chocolate beans, stone tools, and variety in their diet.
Then, as now, periodic markets in the
plazas of major and minor ceremonial
centers were probably the major
mechanism of exchange. Before and
after religious rituals and on
established saints' days or market days,
the modern Maya in the highlands of
Guatemala and Chiapas fill the plazas
before the churches with temporary
stalls or piles of produce, textiles, stone,
firewood, and artworks for barter and
sale.
Surviving Maya inscriptions
make no or little mention of
economic matters other than
brief references to tribute.
Thus economic matters are
difficult to determine
archaeologically
Food Production
and Markets
Chemical Studies of Soils to Determine Market Locations
Soil Phosphorus
Because of the nature of plant behavior, intense cultivation of an area
results in the deposition of amounts of chemical phosphorus different
from areas without agriculture or with wild vegetation. Moreover, the
phosphorus deposited by agricultural activities attaches to particles in the
soil, and can remain attached to them for many hundreds of years. Thus
by measuring the phosphorus content in soils it is possible to suggest
areas of cultivation in the distant past, and thus suggest the possibility of
agricultural usage.
Food Production
and Markets
Chemical Studies of Soils to Determine Market Locations
13C/12C
ratios
Almost 99% of atmospheric CO2, contains the less heavy carbon, 12C. A
small part, 1.1% of CO2, is somewhat heavier, since it contains 13C.
Finally, there is also in the atmosphere in a very small proportion, a type
of CO2 that contains 14C, which is radioactive and unstable, and whose
applications have typically been in paleochronology.
Terrestrial vegetation and marine phytoplankton, in the process of
photosynthetic absorption of CO2, discriminate against heavy molecules
prefering 12C to 13. In this way, the carbon trapped in continental flora
contains a smaller proportion of 13C than the carbon in atmospheric
CO2. The symbol δ13C marks the deviation of isotopic concentration of
13C in any sample, living or fossil, with respect to a standard
measurement. This standard is the carbon contained in the carbonate
from the shell of a specific marine fossil called PDB (Pee Dee
Belemnite).
C-3 vs. C-4 chemical pathways
There are three ways in which the photosynthethic process
utilizes carbon. That is, they synthesize carbon in different
chemical pathways. In the plants denominated group C3,
the first photosynthesized organic compound has 3 atoms of
carbon, while in group C4, there are 4. (There is also a
third, very minor, group called CAM, a combination of C3
and C4 [which includes] some cactus and succulents...)
Most plants (85%) (e.g. trees and crops) follow the C3
photosynthesis pathway and have lower values of δ13C,
between -22‰ and -30‰.
The remaining 15% of the plants are of type C4. The
majority are tropical herbs and have high values of δ13C,
between –10 ‰ and –14 ‰.
Therefore, the δ13C carbon value of the paleosoils depends
largely on the type of plant that grew on them. It is less
when the C3 plants were dominant and higher when those
of type C4 proliferated. The study of the variations of δ13C
in the continental paleosoils can give an indication of the
type of plant, C3 or C4, that dominated in specific periods.
C-3 vs. C-4 chemical pathways
The overwhelming majority of plants in the tropical
Mesoamerican forests is made of plants utilizing a C3
pathway. Corn, on the other hand, is one of the few C4
plants that were grown in the tropical lowlands. Therefore,
high incidence of evidence of C4 plants is strongly
suggestive of the presence of corn in a field or in a
marketplace where corn was traded.
Using this method Richard Terry, and his students, have
argued that several locations within sites, such as the large
plaza in the A Group at Seibal, were probably market
locations.
He has also suggested areas within sites that may have been
used a garden plots for growing corn.
Possibly a
market place
Artist’s Reconstruction of Possible
Market Place
Theory: The Maya elites controlled the economic
system and allocated resources to the
commoners and others.
Counter Theory: The Maya elites did not control
the bulk of the economic system and this system
operated at multiple levels on the basis of barter.
There is contradictory evidence with respect to
this issue.
Summary: This issue is but one aspect of the
general problem of the uncertain role of elites in
the overall Maya economy
One aspect of the economy that was probably controlled by rulers and elites was
the exchange of exotic status-reinforcing goods. Given the nature of political
authority and power among the Maya, such goods were critical resources for rulers,
their families, and their administrators. Though lacking in "practical" functions from a
Western perspective, these goods were needed by elites for the maintenance of
their power. Such high-status exotic goods included jade, pyrite, fine polychrome
ceramics, imported ceramics or artifacts from central Mexico or the highlands,
feathers of the quetzal or other tropical birds, finely chipped chert or obsidian
scepters and eccentrics, and even occasional metal objects from Mexico or Lower
Central America.
All of these materials were part of the costuming and regalia of the kings, nobles,
and priests, without which they could not carry out the public rituals that were their
principal duties in the eyes of their followers. Jaguar pelts, fine textiles, feathers, and
other elements of regalia were probably exchanged over long distances within the
lowlands to meet the demands of the growing elites. Coastal products such as shell
and coral for mosaics and jewelry were traded inland in all periods... Stingray
spines, shark teeth, and spondylus shells from both the Pacific and Caribbean
coasts were required equipment as genital bloodletters for high royal rituals.
Fragments of shell, coral, and pyrite were formed into beautiful mosaic
headdresses, shields, scepters, mirrors, and other elite regalia that appear in
representations in Classic-period art. Rulers and nobles were also often buried with
their flint and obsidian weapons, scepters, and bloodletters.
It should be noted that the model of a two-tiered economy - local and regional
markets and barter in subsistence goods and commodities, and long-distance
elite-controlled exchange in exotic goods and symbols of power and wealth - is
a caricature rather than an accurate characterization of evolving Maya
economic systems. As Maya societies developed from the early lowland states of
the Late Preclassic period, the economic and social systems became far more
complex, as well as regionally variable. Considerable social mobility was
available through achievements in war, crafts, and mercantile activities.
Furthermore, elite polygamy and the expansion of elite families would
naturally lead to a blurring of social boundaries between nobles and elites and
a proliferation of other full- or part-time occupations. By the Late Classic
period, if not earlier, the Maya had a complex range of intermediate classes in
functions, power, and wealth. This Late Classic social reality is reflected in a
wider distribution of polychrome ceramics, exotic goods, and commodities such
as fine chert and obsidian... Indeed, by the eighth century, such elite goods,
while still associated with status and relationship to the ruler, were distributed
across a gradual, unbroken curve of social levels in Maya society...
Theory: The production of elite artifacts, sculpture etc. was controlled by
artisans attached to elite families or persons, and lived near them producing
fine goods (e.g., the Scribe’s compound at Copan)
Counter Theory: The production of these high quality and exotic goods were
produced by communities of specialists who lived in their own communities,
and produced for the elites on commission or by barter (e.g., shell
workshops in outlying areas)
Both forms of production may have been utilized in the same economic
system. We do know that some of the exotic art work was produced by
artisans of very high status because they sometimes “signed” their work with
their names and title(s).
Summary: We don’t really know for sure what the mechanism(s) was (were)
for the production of these materials. What we do know is that these fine,
artistic productions were the property of the elites. These fine pieces are not
usually found in the burials or housemounds of commoners, although simple
artifacts of exotic materials are sometimes found.
TRIBUTE
Another… aspect of the Maya economy regards tribute from commoners, subordinate
centers conquered in warfare or affiliated to major centers by alliance or voluntary
association. At the elite level, we are able to identify such tribute in fine ceramics, exotic
goods, and artifacts with the help of hieroglyphic inscriptions, as well as style and
compositional sourcing of artifacts… Yet there are some indications in Classic Maya
inscriptions… that tribute was more extensive, involving textiles, perishable artifacts, and
possibly those commodities that could be easily shipped, such as woodwork, cacao
beans, salt, and pelts. As warfare increased in frequency and intensity during the Classic
period…, the role of such tribute would have gained importance in regional and
interregional economies...
At the local level, Maya farmers, craftspeople, and local leaders paid tribute to the ruling
elites in subsistence support, corvee labor, crafts, and raw materials to their ruler's
extended families, courts, and attached specialists. These courts monopolized (via
sumptuary laws) various products and benefited from a higher portion of meat and
protein in their diets... Indeed, through strontium analyses of bone, archaeologists have
been able to identify specific "palace diets" characteristic of the members of the court
and their attached specialists and retainers...
Maya Court Scenes Showing
the Receiving of Tribute
Summary
As with subsistence, the question of the role of the state in trade and economic systems is
a very controversial issue. Scholars disagree about the "true" nature of Maya economic
systems precisely because those systems were complex and varied regionally and over
time. … arguments that the Maya rulers and elites emerged due to their role as "middle
men" in long-distance or regional trade are not convincing, given the nature of resources
and products involved in such exchange systems. There is also little direct evidence of
state involvement in most such exchanges.
There is [little] doubt, however, that Maya rulers and their courts controlled long-distance
and regional exchange of many luxury goods. We should not underestimate the
importance of elite control of production and distribution of items such as fine ceramics,
jade, shell, quetzal feathers, and the like. Such items were powerful symbols of authority
and were critical to the central role of rulers in the great ceremonies of the Classic Maya
theater-states. Perhaps it was for this reason that many royal centers arose along longdistance trade routes and, as we shall see, rulers in the Late Classic period battled each
other in warfare over access to such exotic goods through trade and tribute.
Summary
…we must admit that we still cannot describe with confidence
the economic roles of rulers in the ancient Maya state. In
anthropological terms, we cannot specify the relationship
between the institutional structure and the economic and
subsistence infrastructure of Maya states. Were Maya kings
substantially involved as managers of their complex rain forest
subsistence systems? Were they part-time middlemen in trade
and exchange? Were they principally warlords obtaining
tribute resources for themselves and their polities? Or were they
simply, in Marxist terms, a "parasitic elite" whose rituals, wars,
and great constructions served only to legitimate their own
needs?
The honest answer to these questions is that we simply do not
know.