Ancient Maya Trade Routes
During the Classic Period (250-900 AD), the ancient Maya formed complex, interconnected trade routes that spanned both inland and coastal geographies, even as far as central Mexico. Trade encompassed many spheres, with necessities being exchanged at the local and interregional levels, while utilitarian and luxury goods such as obsidian, jade, and marine shell came from much longer distances. Animal remains from sites like Aguateca and Caracol may suggest long distance trade in food resources or that the animal bones and hides may have been used for ceremonial purposes (Thornton, 2011). These trade routes are also indicative of the political ties between the major polities, the cities under their control, and their allies.
From Inland to Coastal Trade
Around the Late to Terminal Classic (800-1000 AD), the intensity of inland trading decreased, with trade goods known to come from coastal routes diminishing. Caracol, for example, shows a marked decrease in the amount of ceremonial materials and marine fauna used for subsistence and rituals (Teeter and Chase, 2004). At the same time, coastal sites such as Wild Cane Cay and Ambergris Cay were becoming more densely populated and items from the inland lowlands became rare (McKillop, 1987; Guderjan, 1995) . These coastal sites continued to show evidence of trade with the Guatemalan highlands for obsidian, however items from northern Belize and the Yucatán became the most abundant indicating the trade routes shifted from the inland to the northern coasts. While inland sites such as Tikal and Caracol were "collapsing," these coastal sites continued to grow and prosper because they became the major link between the Yucatán and the Guatemalan highlands.
How Did Trade Impact the "Collapse"
Getting an exact year for the collapse of many of these cities is limited by dateable materials, so correlating an exact collapse date with dates from coastal sites is still problematic. However, the shift in trade at these inland sites all occur during the range of lowland depopulation and coastal development. This is not to say that a change in the trade networks was the driving factor behind the lowland collapse, but it did add pressure to many of its facets. If animals were being traded for subsistence, this shift would place an added strain on the food system that was already facing troubles from agricultural practices. The luxury goods brought into the lowlands were necessary for the ruling elite to demonstrate and maintain their positions at the top of the social class, so the diminishing of these goods would have added pressure to their legitimacy as the ruling elites (Sharer and Traxler, 2006). This legitimacy was already being questioned as a result of the rulers' inability to bring about the rain necessary for water storage, so decreased access to luxury goods would have compounded this problem.
References
Image Sources: Masson, M. (2002). Introduction. In M. Masson and D. Freidel (Eds.), Ancient Maya Political Economies (1-30). AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek, CA.
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. http://www.penn.museum/
Works Cited: Guderjan, T. H. (1995). Maya Settlement and Trade on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 6: 147-159.
McKillop H. (1987). Wild Cane Cay: An Insular Classic Period to Postclassic Period Maya Trading Station. PhD. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara. UMI, Ann Arbor.
Sharer, R. & Traxler, L. (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Teeter, W. & Chase, A. (2004). Adding Flesh to Bone: Using Zooarchaeology Research to Answer the Big-Picture Questions. Archaeofauna 13: 155-172.
Thornton, E. K. (2011). Reconstructing ancient Maya animal trade through strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 3254-3263.
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. http://www.penn.museum/
Works Cited: Guderjan, T. H. (1995). Maya Settlement and Trade on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 6: 147-159.
McKillop H. (1987). Wild Cane Cay: An Insular Classic Period to Postclassic Period Maya Trading Station. PhD. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara. UMI, Ann Arbor.
Sharer, R. & Traxler, L. (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Teeter, W. & Chase, A. (2004). Adding Flesh to Bone: Using Zooarchaeology Research to Answer the Big-Picture Questions. Archaeofauna 13: 155-172.
Thornton, E. K. (2011). Reconstructing ancient Maya animal trade through strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 3254-3263.