Poor Mayapan

Clifford T. Brown; April A. Watson; Ashley Gravlin-Beman; Larry S. Liebovitch

doi:10.4324/9781315728667

Poor Mayapan

Clifford T. Brown, April A. Watson, Ashley Gravlin-Beman, Larry S. Liebovitch

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

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.

Original language	American English
Title of host publication	The Ancient Maya of Mexico
Subtitle of host publication	Reinterpreting the past of the Northern Maya Lowlands
Editors	Geoffrey E. Braswell
Place of Publication	New York, NY
Publisher	Taylor and Francis
Chapter	12
Pages	306-324
Number of pages	19
ISBN (Electronic)	9781317543602
ISBN (Print)	9781315728667
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315728667
State	Published - Aug 20 2014
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Editorial matter and selection, Geoffrey E. Braswell 2012. Individual contributions, the contributors.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

General Arts and Humanities

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10.4324/9781315728667

http://spiral.lynn.edu/facpubs/748

Cite this

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AU - Watson, April A.

AU - Gravlin-Beman, Ashley

AU - Liebovitch, Larry S.

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Poor Mayapan

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Access to Document

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