A Discrepancy between Elite Office and Economic Status in the El Palmar Dynasty, Mexico

Summary

The identification of elite titles through epigraphic studies has raised new questions about the relationship between elite office and economic status. The present study focuses on a social group referred to by the title lakam, which was detected in the inscriptions of a hieroglyphic stairway at the El Palmar archaeological site. Our epigraphic studies revealed the involvement of lakam officials as emissaries in political alliances between El Palmar, Calakmul, and Copán, suggesting that they held a relatively high political position. Nevertheless, archaeological data indicate that such political privilege with the distant dynasties appears not to have been reflected in their economic status, a discrepancy that gives us a deeper understanding of the Classic Maya political economy.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Nuts and Bolts of the Real "Business" of Ancient Maya Exchange (Part 2)

Keywords

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