Household craft production in the prehispanic urban setting of Mayapan, Yucatan, Mexico

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Authors
Masson, Marilyn A.
Hare, Timothy S.
Peraza Lope, Carlos
Escamilla Ojeda, Barbara C.
Paris, Elizabeth H.
Kohut, Betsy
Russell, Bradley W.
Cruz Alvarado, Wilberth
Advisors
Issue Date
2016-09
Type
Article
Keywords
Multicrafting , Political economy , Postclassic Maya , Household archaeology , Urbanism , Market exchange
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Citation
Masson, Marilyn A.; Hare, Timothy S.; Peraza Lope, Carlos; Escamilla Ojeda, Barbara C.; Paris, Elizabeth H.; Kohut, Betsy; Russell, Bradley W.; Cruz Alvarado, Wilberth. Household craft production in the prehispanic urban setting of Mayapan, Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Research, vol. 24:no. 3:pp 229-274
Abstract

The complexity of the organization of craft production mirrors multiple aspects of the larger political economies of premodern states. At the late Maya urban center of Mayapan, variation in the social contexts of crafting within a single settlement defies simple classificatory models that once held sway in the literature of nonWestern state societies. Most surplus crafters were independent and affluent commoners; notable exceptions include artisans working under direct elite supervision or elites who were directly engaged in crafting. Although household workshops concentrated around the city's epicenter, others were dispersed across the site in unassuming residential neighborhoods or near outlying monumental groups. We consider the significance of pronounced household and regional economic interdependencies founded on well-developed surplus crafting practices, imported raw materials, market exchange, and tribute obligations at Mayapan. As for other premodern states, craft production also gave rise to greater opportunities for wealth differentiation within the commoner class. Producers in this urban political capital contributed in significant ways to a stable political economy by supplying goods that were required at all levels of the social hierarchy.

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Publisher
Springer International Publishing AG
Journal
Book Title
Series
Journal of Archaeological Research;v.24:no.3
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
1059-0161
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