Realizing Value in Mesoamerica : The Dynamics of Desire and Demand in Ancient Economies

This edited collection addresses concepts of value and its impact on economies and economic decision-making in Mesoamerica. It brings together various theoretical and methodological approaches to illuminate the little-studied topic of value in ancient economies. While scholars increasingly note that tangible objects found in the archaeological record could assume different values, depending on how they were used and circulated, less attention has been paid to how archaeologists might infer consensus (or lack of consensus) on how value was determined in past cultures so different from contemporary ones. These contributions argue that by paying closer attention to the concept of value within a cultural context that includes markets as one, but only one, important economic driver can help us build on recent progress in the study of ancient Mesoamerican economies. They show how multiple and conflicting understandings of what is important and meaningful coexist within any society even as moments of exchange create the impression of shared formulations of value. They consider divergences between shared understandings based on systems of beliefs and patterns of practice and the individual decisions of social actors. They also discuss how inequalities in social structures might inform our understanding of value, and how a multiplicity of values might encourage closer inspection of inequality in turn. The book brings together seventeen chapters focused on many parts of Mesoamerica, including Western Mexico, the Basin of Mexico, Veracruz, Oaxaca, and various parts of the Maya Lowlands, and range chronologically from the Classic period (250-900 CE) to the Spanish Conquest in the early 16th Century. It will be valuable reading for researchers and students working in archaeology, economic anthropology, economic history, prehistoric economics, and all those interested in how value can be understood in terms of contemporary cultural and political differences.

Author: Scott R. Hutson, Charles Golden

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Publication Date: Feb 02, 2024

Number of Pages: NA pages

Language: English

Binding: Hardcover

ISBN-10: 3031441672

ISBN-13: 9783031441677