Transformations in Political Economy and Routes of Exchange on the Eve of the Classic Maya Collapse: New Evidence from the Port Kingdom of Cancuen and the Classic Maya Frontier

Summary

The Classic period archaeology and history of the Pasion River "highway" and its connecting land routes demonstrate the vital role of riverine exchange systems and also register major changes in routes, agents, and economies. The riverine port city of Cancuen held a critical position at the intersection of both river and land routes that connected the southwest Classic Maya cities to other Peten centers, to southern highland trading partners, and to the more distant realms of Tabasco and Veracruz. Recent evidence from excavations at Cancuen and in the Verapaz highlands, as well as from compositional analyses, demonstrate that in the late eighth century there were dramatic shifts in both river and land routes of exchange connecting the southern lowlands with other areas of Mesoamerica. These shifts also involved changes in political economy, port control, commodities and market exchange, and the agents involved – as well as the impact of specific historical events. Taken together this interregional pattern reveals a change in both economic modes and routes as part of a general transformation (at times violent) in the political economy of eastern Mesoamerica near the end of the Classic period.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Ports, Trails, and Waterways: Trade and Economy in the Ancient Maya World

Keywords

Spatial Coverage