Maya Economic Organization and Power: Elite Households at Aguateca

Summary

The rich data from elite households at the Classic site of Aguateca indicate that each household was a relatively autonomous economic unit of production and consumption of staples and utilitarian goods. While individual households were also specializing in the production of a variety of prestige items, there is little evidence for central control of any sphere of the economy by the royal court or elites. Individual households also seem to have maintained their own long-distance relationships with other elites from different areas. One intriguing question is why Maya elites, in apparent contrast to elites of complex societies in other parts of the world, did not seem to have developed and used a centralized economy as a means of power and political control. The unique data from Aguateca elite households contributes to a better understanding of Classic Maya economic organization.

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

Spatial Coverage