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

玛雅潘是古代中美洲最重要的政治首都之一，也是后古典时期（公元1200-1450年）玛雅世界最大的城市。在NSF的支持下，项目负责人Marilyn Masson，卡洛斯Peraza Lope和Timothy Hare将通过确定玛雅潘古代城市环境中平民和精英阶层的职业异质性和财富程度来重建这座城市的经济基础。虽然文献资料暗示，在与西班牙人接触的时期，玛雅社会的行政管理相当复杂，职业也很专业化，但这些记载很少有详细的描述。 考古调查需要记录贵族和平民之间的多样性，依赖性，自主性和富裕性。调查将针对精英住宅、会议厅和平民住宅，这些住宅被假设为代表宗教专家、商人、家仆（包括奴隶）、战士、商人和农民的住宅。这些结构中的材料将决定全职和兼职经济活动在多大程度上有助于维持城市中的家庭群体。人们对家庭劳动力的结构以及从事不同职业的家庭富裕程度的差异知之甚少。中美洲的后古典时期有着非常高的区域间商业交流水平，这些调查将确定商业活动对居住在这个城市的家庭的日常工作和生计的影响。玛雅潘可以说是中美洲东南部一个独特的社会政治发展。这座城市因其高度集中、密集的城市定居点和政治地位而与众不同。它是一个国际化的世界城市，在整个玛雅地区和其他地区都有着深远的军事、政治和经济联系。前哥伦布时期的玛雅文明是新大陆最复杂的社会之一，但相对而言，人们对大多数主要玛雅政治首都的经济基础知之甚少。该项目的调查将推进比较人类学和城市研究的目标，这些研究旨在理解和解释古代中心地区的政治组织，社会结构和职业异质性的变化。该遗址对墨西哥国家遗产至关重要。近年来，墨西哥政府投资恢复和发展该市的纪念性旅游中心，占遗址围墙面积的3.8%（4.2公里）。通过重建城市生活的更广泛的画面，该项目将直接促进教育以及发展和保护非常重要的文化资源。玛雅潘是后古典时期玛雅成就的少数几个被广泛认可的象征之一，对旅游业开放。该项目雇用了当地玛雅村庄的男子和妇女，他们是实地研究和分析的真正合作者。当地专业人员和合著者包括尤卡坦自治大学的毕业生，他们也声称拥有尤卡坦玛雅遗产。代表美国大学和墨西哥国家人类学和历史研究所的联合主任将促进国际机构间的合作。研究成果将通过在该地点的永久海报展览、关于玛雅潘的小册子和教育讲习班与当地居民分享。

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.