Particularism vs. Broad Strokes: The application of political economic paradigms of the elite Classic Maya in Northwestern Belize

Summary

By bringing together theoretical frameworks utilized by scholars to describe the Classic Maya political economy, this work evaluates their applications in the case of the site of La Milpa. Located in Northwestern Belize, La Milpa experienced a demographic rise during the Late Classic/Terminal Classic periods, followed by a rapid decline shortly thereafter. This poster explores Maya political economy mechanisms as defined by Kenneth Hirth in his 1996 piece, specifically focusing on aspects of elite craft control and differential access to imported goods. By analyzing ceramic and lithic material excavated during 2008-2015 field seasons from the courtyard of La Milpa’s ruling family, we gained a greater understanding of the modes of production (craft specialization and control), consumption (elite communal and private activities), and distribution (access to interregional wares) for the La Milpa elite. From there, we assessed whether or not the operating processes of the La Milpa political economy share similarities from other areas throughout the Maya region during the Late Classic.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage