Commerce, autarky, barter, and redistribution; the multi-tiered urban economy of El Perú-Waka’, Guatemala

Summary

The ceramic database from El Perú-Waka’ contains the record of the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of some 50,000 sherds and 200 whole vessels. Patterns and fine details of the Classic Maya economy emerge from this expansive dataset. These include, but are not limited to, the marketing distribution of monochrome ceramics and the redistributive gifting of high-quality polychrome vessels. Unexpected patterns appeared as well, such as the apparent autarky of monochrome blacks in the late 8th century and the smattering of irregularly scattered thin-slipped ceramics of the Terminal Classic. In short, the ceramic database of El Perú-Waka’ revealed a diverse set of economic relations. These patterns encompass commerce, autarky, barter, and redistribution. All of this hints at a Classic Maya economy of surprising complexity. This paper explores these complexities, especially noting how such patterns change through time as the Maya economy moved from its Late Classic heights to its Terminal Classic demise.

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 1)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage