11 Implications of the Marketplace at Maax Na, Belize

Abstract

Within the last decade a new economic paradigm has emerged that emphasizes the variability in economic strategies the pre-Hispanic Maya employed. Among the most important developments is the discovery of marketplaces at several Classic Maya (250–900 CE) sites. Investigations into them and into market systems continue to fuel research, but invite broader consideration of what the presence of marketplaces might mean for regional systems of provision and control. The settlement densities revealed by new lidar data add urgency to this quest. Researchers should also consider the role of merchants, which is looming larger in our views of the pre-Hispanic Maya world. This article examines the implications of the preliminary identification of a marketplace at the city of Maax Na for economic activities, actors, and market systems in the Three Rivers Region of Guatemala and Belize.