Wealth, Occupation, and Social Class at the Ancient City of Mayapan

玛雅潘古城的财富、职业和社会阶层

• 批准号: 0742128
• 负责人: Marilyn Masson
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: SUNY at Albany
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-05-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0742128&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Wealth; Occupation; Social; Class; Ancient

Mayapan was one of the most important political capitals of ancient Mesoamerica, and it was the largest city in the Maya world during the Postclassic Period (A.D. 1200-1450). With NSF support, project directors Marilyn Masson, Carlos Peraza Lope, and Timothy Hare will reconstruct this city's economic foundations of power by determining the degree of occupational heterogeneity and wealth among the commoner and elite classes in Mayapan's ancient urban setting. Although documentary sources imply considerable administrative complexity and occupational specialization within Maya society at the time of Spanish contact, these accounts are sparse in detail. Archaeological investigations are needed to document the diversity, dependency, autonomy, and affluence among nobles and commoners. Investigations will target elite residences, a meeting hall, and commoner dwellings that are hypothesized to represent the homes of religious specialists, craftspersons, domestic servants (including slaves), warriors, traders, and farmers. Materials from these structures will determine the degree to which full and part-time economic activities helped to sustain family groups in the city. Little is known about the structure of family labor and the variation in the affluence of families with differing occupational specializations. The Postclassic Period of Mesoamerica had an exceptionally high level of inter-regional commercial exchange, and these investigations will determine the impacts of mercantile activities on the daily work and sustenance of families residing in this urban cityscape. Mayapan was arguably a unique sociopolitical development in southeastern Mesoamerica. This city was distinctive due to its highly nucleated, dense urban settlement and political primacy. It was a cosmopolitan world city with far-reaching military, political, and economic ties throughout and beyond the Maya area. Pre-Columbian Maya civilization was among the most sophisticated societies of the New World, yet comparatively little is known about the economic foundations of most major Maya political capitals. This project's investigations will advance the goals of comparative anthropology and urban studies which seek to understand and explain variation in political organization, social structure, and occupational heterogeneity at ancient central places. This site is of critical importance for Mexican national heritage. In recent years, the Mexican government has invested in restoring and developing the city's monumental center for tourism, which represents 3.8% of the site's walled area (4.2 km). By reconstructing a broader picture of life at the city, this project will contribute directly to education and to the development and conservation of a highly significant cultural resource. Mayapan stands as one of the few widely-recognized symbols of Postclassic Period Maya accomplishments that are open to tourism. Men and women from local Maya villages are employed by the project and are true collaborators in field research and analysis. Local professional staff members and co-authors include graduates of the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, who also claim Yucatec Maya heritage. International inter-agency collaboration will be fostered among the co-directors, who represent U.S. universities and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia. Research results will be shared with local residents through a permanent poster exhibit at the site, a booklet on Mayapan, and educational workshops.

玛雅潘是古代中美洲最重要的政治首都之一，也是后古典时期（公元1200-1450年）玛雅世界最大的城市。在国家科学基金会的支持下，项目总监 Marilyn Masson、Carlos Peraza Lope 和 Timothy Hare 将通过确定玛雅潘古代城市环境中平民和精英阶层的职业异质性和财富程度，重建这座城市的经济权力基础。尽管文献资料表明，在与西班牙接触时，玛雅社会的行政管理相当复杂，职业也相当专业化，但这些记载的细节却很少。 需要考古调查来记录贵族和平民之间的多样性、依赖性、自治和富裕程度。调查将针对精英住宅、会议厅和平民住宅，假设这些住宅代表宗教专家、工匠、家庭仆人（包括奴隶）、战士、商人和农民的住宅。这些结构中的材料将决定全职和兼职经济活动在多大程度上有助于维持城市中的家庭群体。人们对家庭劳动力的结构以及不同职业专业的家庭富裕程度的差异知之甚少。中美洲的后古典时期具有异常高水平的区域间商业交流，这些调查将确定商业活动对居住在这个城市景观中的家庭的日常工作和生计的影响。玛雅潘可以说是中美洲东南部独特的社会政治发展。这座城市因其高度核心、密集的城市聚落和政治主导地位而与众不同。它是一座国际化的世界城市，与玛雅地区内外有着深远的军事、政治和经济联系。前哥伦布时代的玛雅文明是新世界最复杂的社会之一，但人们对大多数主要玛雅政治首都的经济基础知之甚少。该项目的调查将推进比较人类学和城市研究的目标，这些目标旨在理解和解释古代中心地区政治组织、社会结构和职业异质性的变化。该遗址对于墨西哥国家遗产至关重要。近年来，墨西哥政府投资修复和开发了该市的纪念性旅游中心，占该地区围墙面积（4.2 平方公里）的 3.8%。通过重建更广阔的城市生活图景，该项目将直接为教育以及极其重要的文化资源的开发和保护做出贡献。玛雅潘是少数被广泛认可的后古典时期玛雅成就的象征之一，并且对旅游业开放。该项目雇用了来自当地玛雅村庄的男女，他们是实地研究和分析的真正合作者。当地专业工作人员和合著者包括尤卡坦自治大学的毕业生，他们也拥有尤卡坦玛雅遗产。代表美国大学和墨西哥国家人类学与历史研究所的联合主任将促进国际机构间合作。研究成果将通过现场永久海报展览、玛雅潘小册子和教育研讨会与当地居民分享。