Demand or Control? Reconsidering the Production and Consumption of Maya Jade

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Misinformation and Misrepresentation Part 1: Reconsidering “Human Sacrifice,” Religion, Slavery, Modernity, and Other European-Derived Concepts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The procurement and consumption of jade are conventionally thought to have been under the control of Maya elites. Through cross-cultural comparison with ancient China as a representative jade-using culture, we argue that the multidimensional circulation of Maya jade created more flexible and complex social relations than “elite control.” In the Classic Maya, the production, distribution, and consumption of jade artifacts among different centers, as well as the quality, quantity, and extent of labor invested in jade craftsmanship, are not in alignment with the political hierarchy of each center. The tradition of using jade in caches and burials also exhibits distinct tendencies. Small jade beads functioned as commodities in circulation. Commoners were extensively involved in jade production, even in the procedures that required complex craftsmanship. Once items of ideological and symbolic significance, like jade, possess economic value, they could introduce greater flexibility and dynamism in social mobility across different strata. In this case, “elite control” might not be the most effective analytical concept to understand jade utilization among different social actors of Classic Maya. We conclude by highlighting the concept of demand and reciprocity to interpret various forms of collective actions and cooperation in jade production and consumption.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Misinformation and Misrepresentation Part 1: Reconsidering “Human Sacrifice,” Religion, Slavery, Modernity, and Other European-Derived Concepts

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38319.0