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The Sociopolitical Economy of an Ancient Maya Village: Cerén and its Sacbe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Payson Sheets ,
Christine Dixon ,
David Lentz ,
Rachel Egan ,
Alexandria Halmbacher ,
Venicia Slotten ,
Rocío Herrera  and
Celine Lamb
Payson Sheets
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309-0233, (payson.sheets@colorado.edu)
Christine Dixon
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Green River Community College, Auburn WA 98092-3622
David Lentz
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45221
Rachel Egan
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309-0233
Alexandria Halmbacher
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309-0233
Venicia Slotten
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45221
Rocío Herrera
Affiliation:
Departamento de Arqueología, Museo Nacional de Antropología Dr. David J. Guzmán, Patrimonio Cultural, Secretaría de Cultura de la Presidencia, San Salvador, El Salvador
Celine Lamb
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40506
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Abstract

The intellectual, artistic, and architectural accomplishments of Maya elites during the Classic period were extraordinary, and evidence of elite activities has preserved well in the archaeological record. A centuries-long research focus on elites has understandably fostered the view that they controlled the economy, politics, and religion of Maya civilization. While there has been significant progress in household archaeology, unfortunately the activities, decisions, and interactions of commoners generally preserve poorly in the archaeological record. Therefore, it has been challenging to understand the sociopolitical economy of commoners, and how it related—or did not relate—to elite authority. The exceptional volcanic preservation of the site of Cerén, El Salvador, provides a unique opportunity to explore the degree to which elites controlled or influenced commoner life. Was society organized in a top-down hierarchy in which elites controlled everything? Or did commoners have autonomy, and thus the authority to decide quotidian, seasonal, and annual issues within the village? Or was there a mixture of different loci of authority within the village and the region? Research at Cerén is beginning to shed some light on the sociopolitical economy within the community and in relation to elites in the Zapotitan valley. A domain in which there was considerable commoner-elite interaction in the Cerén area was the marketplace. Elites and their attached specialists provided products, and commoners decided which marketplace they would attend to exchange their items. Evidence from Cerén also suggests that there were numerous other domains of authority within the community that had no detectable control or influence from outside. For instance, people in the village decided what crafts or specialized agricultural products to produce as surplus to be exchanged within the community for different products from other households. Cerén community members acted independently as individuals, as households, or in other domains within the community. Understanding the multiple layers of authority at Cerén sheds light on the sociopolitical organization in one non-elite Classic period Maya community.

Resumen

Resumen

Los logros intelectuales, artísticos y arquitectónicos de la élite maya durante el periodo clásico fueron extraordinarios y se han conservado bien en el registro arqueológico en México, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras y El Salvador. Por siglos, el enfoque de las investigaciones ha generado la opinión comprensible que las élites controlaron la economía, la politica y la religion de su civilización. Desafortunadamente, las actividades, las decisiones y las interacciones de la gente común generalmente no se conservan bien en el registro arqueológico. Debido a esto, siempre ha sido un desafío comprender la economía sociopolítica de este grupo social, así como su relación y referenda con la autoridad que la controlaba. Afortunadamente, la buena preservación debido a la erupción volcánica en el sitio Joya de Cerén en El Salvador, ofrece una oportunidad para explorar el grado de influencia de la élite sobre la gente común. ¿Fue esta antigua sociedad una jerarquiía de mando y dominio de arriba hacia abajo, donde las elites controlaban todo? ¿O es que los aldeanos tenían autonomía para decidir cuestiones cotidianas, estacionales y anuales en el pueblo? ¿0 había mezcla de diferentes niveles de autoridad dentro de la aldea y la región? Las investigaciones en el sitio arqueológico Joya de Cerén han empezado a arrojar luz sobre la economía sociopolítica dentro de la aldea y cómo funcionó el pueblo en relación a las élites del valle de Zapotitán. Uno de los ejemplos donde existia dominio de las élites sobre la gente común era en el mercado, donde habia una considerable interaccion entre ambos grupos y la élite hacía accesibles sus productos elaborados por especialistas. A pesar de esto, la gente comun podia escoger el mercado para comerciar sus bienes. Los otros cinco dominios de autoridad identificados en la aldea de Joy a de Cerén no tenian control o influencia exterior. Más bien, los residentes de Joya de Ceren actuaron como agentes independientes, ya sea como individuos, hogares o en otros dominios dentro delfuncionamiento de la comunidad. Por ejemplo, los aldeanos decidian sobre la produce ion en exceso de artesanías y bienes agrícolas en cantidades mayores de lo que consumían localmente, de esta forma podían intercambiarlos dentro de la comunidad o comerciarlos en un mercado.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 341 - 361
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2015

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