Wealth, Occupation, and Social Class at the Ancient City of Mayapan

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Mayapan was one of the most important political capitals of ancient Mesoamerica, and it was the largest city in the Maya world during the Postclassic Period (A.D. 1200-1450). With NSF support, project directors Marilyn Masson, Carlos Peraza Lope, and Timothy Hare will reconstruct this city's economic foundations of power by determining the degree of occupational heterogeneity and wealth among the commoner and elite classes in Mayapan's ancient urban setting. Although documentary sources imply considerable administrative complexity and occupational specialization within Maya society at the time of Spanish contact, these accounts are sparse in detail. Archaeological investigations are needed to document the diversity, dependency, autonomy, and affluence among nobles and commoners. Investigations will target elite residences, a meeting hall, and commoner dwellings that are hypothesized to represent the homes of religious specialists, craftspersons, domestic servants (including slaves), warriors, traders, and farmers. Materials from these structures will determine the degree to which full and part-time economic activities helped to sustain family groups in the city. Little is known about the structure of family labor and the variation in the affluence of families with differing occupational specializations. The Postclassic Period of Mesoamerica had an exceptionally high level of inter-regional commercial exchange, and these investigations will determine the impacts of mercantile activities on the daily work and sustenance of families residing in this urban cityscape. Mayapan was arguably a unique sociopolitical development in southeastern Mesoamerica. This city was distinctive due to its highly nucleated, dense urban settlement and political primacy. It was a cosmopolitan world city with far-reaching military, political, and economic ties throughout and beyond the Maya area. Pre-Columbian Maya civilization was among the most sophisticated societies of the New World, yet comparatively little is known about the economic foundations of most major Maya political capitals. This project's investigations will advance the goals of comparative anthropology and urban studies which seek to understand and explain variation in political organization, social structure, and occupational heterogeneity at ancient central places. This site is of critical importance for Mexican national heritage. In recent years, the Mexican government has invested in restoring and developing the city's monumental center for tourism, which represents 3.8% of the site's walled area (4.2 km). By reconstructing a broader picture of life at the city, this project will contribute directly to education and to the development and conservation of a highly significant cultural resource. Mayapan stands as one of the few widely-recognized symbols of Postclassic Period Maya accomplishments that are open to tourism. Men and women from local Maya villages are employed by the project and are true collaborators in field research and analysis. Local professional staff members and co-authors include graduates of the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, who also claim Yucatec Maya heritage. International inter-agency collaboration will be fostered among the co-directors, who represent U.S. universities and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia. Research results will be shared with local residents through a permanent poster exhibit at the site, a booklet on Mayapan, and educational workshops.