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MULTISCALAR MODEL OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS AND COMMUNITIES IN LATE CLASSIC COPAN MAYA SOCIETY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2004

AnnCorinne Freter
AnnCorinne Freter
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Bentley Hall Annex, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
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Abstract

A variety of models contribute to our understanding of Classic Maya sociopolitical structure. Few, however, consider the variability that existed within Maya systems, and the temporal and spatial scales of analysis have often been limited, especially with respect to the commoner segment of society. One model that has focused attention on this component of the Maya is the sian otot, described by Charles Wisdom (1940The Chorti Indians of Guatemala. University of Chicago Press) and introduced for the Copan Maya by William Fash (1983 Deducing Social Organization from Classic Maya Settlement Patterns: A Case Study from the Copan Valley. In Civilization in the Ancient Americas: Essays in Honor of Gordon R. Willey. University of New Mexico Press and Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University). Based on data from a 135-km2 regional settlement survey and excavations of the Copan Valley in Honduras, it is argued that this model, in conjunction with other, broader models of Classic Maya society, offers a useful perspective from which to construct a multiscalar model of ancient Copan social organization. The variability among sian otot, particularly in terms of economic production, is considered. The ceramic data from Copan suggest that ceramic production among commoner units was communal, and the possibility for community cooperatives is raised. Finally, the dynamic scale and productive relations among the commoners are considered in light of broader sociopolitical changes in the processual history of the Copan polity. It is concluded that the intersection of social, political, and economic institutional frameworks needs to be more comprehensively investigated from varied scales, both temporal and settlement, to appreciate fully the diversity of Maya social organization during the Late Classic/Terminal Classic transition.

Type
SPECIAL SECTION: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON ANCIENT LOWLAND MAYA SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , January 2004 , pp. 93 - 106
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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