The Mayan economy had a complex organization due to the fact that there was no money in it, the exchange of goods and services produced by individual groups was carried out directly. Compared to the details of the descriptions of wars and leaders, the Mayans left little evidence of their economic system and trade relations.
The basis of the Mayan economy was agriculture, handicrafts and trade. By the 500th year BC. e. On the territory of Central America, relatively large Mayan settlements were formed, which controlled resources and exchanged them for groups of these resources deprived. In the end, a system was formed of several groups that produced a surplus of a certain product and exchanged products for it that were available in abundance from other groups, but not from itself [1] .
Content
Economy Structure
The main production force of the Mayan economy was the middle class: workers and artisans who produced goods [2] . The cultivation of the land, the domestication of animals, the development of crafts ensured the development of an extensive trading network, which was controlled by representatives of the elite.
Evidence of Mayan markets for the exchange of goods is available, for example, in the ruins of Chunchukmilya , where, thanks to chemical analysis of the soil, a trading place that existed 1,500 years ago was discovered [3] . Similar finds were made in other Mayan cities, which confirms the existence of an extensive trading network. Shells from remote coastal areas, feathers that live at a great distance from the bird discovery site, minerals that are not found nearby in their natural form — all of these artifacts indicate that the Maya were actively trading, in which all the groups represented in the territory participated.
Trade development and specialization
The exchange of goods was a factor in the economic growth of the Mayan cities. Almost everywhere, the trading system existed in the form of a free market : the state directly intervened in trade only in large cities, where local rulers controlled trade. In these cities, in almost all cases, there was a market that had trade links with similar markets in cities throughout Mesoamerica , including Teotihuacan and the Olmec settlements. This product had a different value in different cities, apparently increasing as it was remote from the source. Goods were divided into two groups: status items used by the elite and everyday items [4] . The class of merchants was constantly increasing, and due to it both the middle class and the elite grew. At the same time, the growing middle class did not always increase due to the direct inflow of merchants into it, but depended on their number due to the increased sales opportunities for the goods.
Products
The supply of goods on the market was very diverse. Some of them, being constantly available, served as money: cocoa beans , sea shells, corn , chili pepper , cassava , amaranth , palm , vanilla , avocado , tobacco .
Among the most valuable items traded over long distances were salt , obsidian , jade , turquoise, and quetzal feathers. Markets in large Mayan cities acted as distribution centers in which merchants purchased wholesale quantities of goods in order to then retail in smaller settlements [5] .
Notes
- ↑ Sharer, Richard J .; Traxler, Loa P. The Ancient Maya. - 6th edition. - 2006.
- ↑ Maya Economics . Archived September 22, 2013.
- ↑ Ancient Yucatán Soils Point to Maya Market, and Market Economy (January 8, 2008). The appeal date is June 27, 2015.
- ↑ Christopher Minster. Ancient Maya Economy and Trade . About.com . The appeal date is June 27, 2015.
- ↑ Maya Trade and Economy . Authentic Maya. The appeal date is June 28, 2015. Archived on September 7, 2012.