Value of Things

Prehistoric to Contemporary Commodities in the Maya Region

AvJennifer P. Mathews,Thomas H. Guderjan

Häftad, Engelska, 2025

414 kr

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Beskrivning

Jade, stone tools, honey and wax, ceramics, rum, land. What gave these commodities value in the Maya world, and how were those values determined? What factors influenced the rise and fall of a commodity's value? The Value of Things examines the social and ritual value of commodities in Mesoamerica, providing a new and dynamic temporal view of the roles of trade of commodities and elite goods from the prehistoric Maya to the present. Editors Jennifer P. Mathews and Thomas H. Guderjan begin the volume with a review of the theoretical literature related to the 'value of things.' Throughout the volume, well-known scholars offer chapters that examine the value of specific commodities in a broad time frame - from prehistoric, colonial, and historic times to the present. Using cases from the Maya world on both the local level and the macro-regional, contributors look at jade, agricultural products (ancient and contemporary), stone tools, salt, cacao (chocolate), honey and wax, henequen, sugarcane and rum, land, ceramic (ancient and contemporary), and contemporary tourist handicrafts. Each chapter author looks into what made their specific commodity valuable to ancient, historic, and contemporary peoples in the Maya region. Often a commodity's worth goes far beyond its financial value indeed, in some cases, it may not even be viewed as something that can be sold. Other themes include the rise and fall in commodity values based on perceived need, rarity or overproduction, and change in available raw materials the domestic labor side of commodities, including daily life of the laborers and relationships between elites and nonelites in production. Examining, explaining, and theorizing how people ascribe value to what they trade, this scholarly volume provides a rich look at local and regional Maya case studies through centuries of time.Contributors:Rani T. AlexanderDean E. ArnoldTimothy BeachBriana BiancoSteven BozarthTiffany C. CainScott L. FedickThomas H. GuderjanJohn GustEleanor Harrison-BuckBrigitte KovacevichSamantha KrauseJoshua J. KwokaRichard M. LeventhalSheryl Luzzadder-BeachJennifer P. MathewsHeather McKillopAllan D. MeyersGary RaysonMary Katherine ScottE. Cory Sills

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2025-02-25
Mått:152 x 229 x 28 mm
Vikt:499 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:320
Förlag:University of Arizona Press
ISBN:9780816555376

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Mer om författaren

Jennifer P. Mathews is a professor of anthropology at Trinity University. She is the author of Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas, from the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley. The recipient of numerous teaching awards and service distinctions, she is an expert on commodities and historical archaeology in the Yucatá n peninsula.Thomas H. Guderjan is an associate professor of anthropology and chair of the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Texas at Tyler. He is the author of The Nature of an Ancient Maya City: Resources, Interaction, and Power at Blue Creek, Belize and Ancient Maya Traders of Ambergris Caye.

Recensioner i media

"The chapters in this useful volume are succinct, accessible and provide food for thought about the production, circulation and consumption of certain commodities in Mesoamerica. As such, it should appeal to a broad audience of archaeological anthropologists, geographers, art historians and material culture specialists interested in Native American peoples, things and landscapes." - Antiquity "Examines the 'value of things' not only from an economic perspective but much more broadly, emphasizing the social, ritual, and ideological components." - Gabrielle Vail, co-author of The New Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs, Volume 2: The Codical Texts

Innehållsförteckning

Introduction: The Value of ThingsJennifer P. Mathews and Thomas H. Guderjan. The Value of Labor: How the Production Process Added Value to Pre-Columbian Maya JadeBrigitte Kovacevich2. Production of Ancient Wetland Agricultural Commodities in the Maya LowlandsThomas H. Guderjan, Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach, Timothy Beach, Steven Bozarth, and Samantha Krause3. F inding Value in the Mundane: Chert Features and Communities of Practice at San Bartolo, GuatemalaJoshua J. Kwoka4. The Paynes Creek Salt Works, Belize: A Model for Ancient Maya Salt ProductionHeather McKillop and E. Cory Sills5. Beekeeping Practices in Modern and Ancient Yucatá n: Going from the Known to the UnknownBriana Bianco, Rani T. Alexander, and Gary Rayson. The Coin of Her Realm: Cacao as Gendered Goods among the Prehispanic and Colonial MayaEleanor Harrison-Buck7. Prerevolutionary Henequen Landscapes of Northwestern Yucatá nAllan D. Meyers8. Cosmopolitan Living? Examining the Sugar and Rum Industry of the Costa Escondida, Quintana Roo, MexicoJennifer P. Mathews and John Gust9. Plant-Food Commodities of the Maya LowlandsScott L. Fedick. Questioning the Status of Land as Commodity in Maya Quintana Roo and BelizeTiffany C. Cain and Richard M. Leventhal. Changes in Ceramics as Commodities in Ticul, Yucatá n, Mexico ( 9 5– 2 8) and What They Tell Us about Ancient Maya Ceramic ProductionDean E. Arnold2. Meaning in the Making: Locating Value in the Production and Consumption of Maya Tourist ArtsMary Katherine ScottReferencesContributorsIndex