Economic Strategies of Terminal Classic Households in the Northern Maya Lowlands: Multicrafting and Economic Diversification of a Mid- Elite Residential Compound at Xuenkal, Yucatan
Date
2013-01-30
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The rise of Chichen Itza is associated with a period of changes and economic growth in the northern Lowlands during the Terminal Classic (A.D. 800-1000) and Early Postclassic (A.D. 1000-1200) periods (Andrews et al. 2003:151). Although some sites continued to grow, many sites were abandoned or had drastic declines. However, communities that continued to be occupied show visible shifts in ceramic and architectural styles, and settlement patterns that most likely reflect modifications in their political and economic organizations. Based on their ability to support Chichen Itza political and economic frameworks, elite life and activity in surrounding communities did not come to an end during the Terminal Classic.
Examining elite life in areas that managed to carry on during difficult times allows a closer evaluation of specific strategies employed by elite groups to cope with a fluctuating economy and an innovative, yet short lasting, complex level organization. Xuenkal was one of Chichen Itza’s secondary centers that managed to operate under Terminal Classic conditions; therefore it presents a perfect case to examine economic structures that hypothetically originated from Chichen Itza’s integrative policy.
Regional secondary centers have been overlooked when evaluating the impact Chichen had on local economies and how they were incorporated into the regional economy. Xuenkal offers several advantages for investigating such questions. An examination of Xuenkal elite contexts provides a means for examining elements that best represent levels of integration, affiliation, or submission endorsed by Chichen Itza.
The archaeological exploration of one of Xuenkal’s Terminal Classic Platforms offers an opportunity to investigate domestic economic strategies implemented during times of economic change. The assessment of one mid-elite household provides evidence to evaluate the premise that control over production was necessary to guarantee economic interaction and economic intensification. New configurations of domestic and productive spaces are predicted to reflect particular activities related to multricrafting and intermittent crafting as particular strategies that were not previously employed by prominent elites in the Classic period. Mid-elite material culture would reflect redundancy in craft production necessary to be included in the political economy structure and within market and redistribution systems sponsored and controlled by Chichen Itza.
Description
Keywords
Archaeology
Citation
Alonso Olvera, A. (2013). Economic Strategies of Terminal Classic Households in the Northern Maya Lowlands: Multicrafting and Economic Diversification of a Mid- Elite Residential Compound at Xuenkal, Yucatan (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25784