Poor Mayapan

Authors

Clifford T. Brown, Florida Atlantic University
April Watson, Florida Atlantic University
Ashley Gravlin-Beman, Florida Atlantic University
Larry S. Liebovitch, CUNY Queens College

Document Type

Chapter

Publication Date

8-20-2014

DOI

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315728667

Abstract

The material culture of Mayapan (ca. A.D. 1250-1400), the last great capital city of the northern Maya lowlands, has often been described as “decadent.” Such descriptions, however, are highly subjective. In this chapter, we consider poverty and wealth at Mayapan from a perspective based in modern economics. We find that, as in modern societies, wealth (as measured by house size) at Mayapan fits a Pareto distribution. Nevertheless, compared to two Classic-period sites in Mexico-Palenque and Sayil-the distribution of wealth was more equal at Mayapan, suggesting that economic inequality was less extreme at the Postclassic city. One cause for the decadent material culture of Mayapan, therefore, was that the city was impoverished when compared to its Classic predecessors.

Publication

The Ancient Maya of Mexico: Reinterpreting the Past of the Northern Maya Lowlands

Publisher

Routledge

City/State

New York, NY

Pages

306-323

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Comments

This chapter was written before Dr. April Watson joined Lynn University.

Recommended Citation

Brown, C. T., Watson, A. A., Gravlin-Beman, A., & Liebovitch, L. S. (2014). Poor Mayapan. In G. E. Braswell (Ed.), The Ancient Maya of Mexico: Reinterpreting the Past of the Northern Maya Lowlands (pp. 306-323). New York, NY: Routledge.