Discover with us in this interesting and unique article, all about the culture in the Mayan Economy, its organization and economic activities. Don't stop reading it! and you will learn about the characteristics that the Mayans had in their economy.
Mayan Economy: History, characteristics, type and more
The Mayans were a great people in pre-Columbian America, who had great technological advances that were ahead of their time, but how did they live? What did they feed on? We invite you to read this interesting article to learn more about the Mayan economy.
Nobody knows the circumstances of the disappearance of this great empire, the truth is that the invasion of Spain may not have had anything to do with it. They made a lot of progress economically, and as a society and culture, they were the designers of the calendar by which they could accurately measure time.
History of the Mayan economy
Historically, the Mayans never formed an empire, because they were different cities completely independent of each other and were always at war with each other, even though they spoke the same language and had similar cultures.
The main characteristic of all the Mayan cities was the difference in social status, known through the archaeological remains discovered.
As a company, they were located in the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, Tabasco and Chiapas, throughout the country of Honduras and Belize. Their political organization was never a unit as such, since each city functioned as an independent state, the main city was Yucatan, but even so, they formed a single society with the same culture, religion and the organization was very hierarchical.
The difference in classes: political, religious and peasant, were very well determined, they were theocratic states and their society was determined by hunters and gatherers, and from there came the other social groups, even the economy was based on agriculture, hunting, fishing and trade between cities. As farmers, their main crop was corn, followed by beans, avocado, tobacco, and cotton.
The main animals they hunted were in the jungle and in the great mountains, where they were found among jaguars, turtles, snakes and monkeys, with blowguns, bows and arrows and also setting traps, and in fishing they used hooks made of sea shells.
They had to learn to domesticate animals, such as dogs and birds, including ducks and pigeons, they managed to use the honey from bees and the wax that came from them.
Intercity trade was necessary for this culture as they needed to meet the needs of the population in each of the regions as each was partially self-sufficient.
Each of the resources of each city was different due to the difference in geographical and land areas, so foreign trade had to be a priority, based on the Mayan economy of the time.
Trade was represented by the sale of leather, baskets, textiles, pottery, honey, wax, fish, venison, salt, and even different types of weapons.
The change was made by roads that were found to be stone paths, not as excellent as those of the Aztecs, they also used some waterways, their means of exchange were barter, but they also had the use of coins for trade that could be sea shells, cocoa beans and flat copper shells.
Main Characteristics of the Mayan economy
a.- The Mayans began as a fruit-gathering city, then rose to become hunters, fishermen and temporary farmers, until they became economically consolidated with the cultivation of corn. and other types of grain.
b.- The other foods they grew were pumpkin, tomato, chili, cocoa, oregano and avocado. fields to increase their crops, with which they have become self-sufficient.
c.- They were the first to use the Milpa system for planting, it was an agrarian system used by the Mesoamericans where their production elements were corn, beans and pumpkin (Auyama), and in some cases Chile (hot pepper).
d.- Their civilization progressed and they managed to have artisans and builders, at the same time that they began to trade with other neighboring cities.
Among its artisans were those who dedicated themselves to the manufacture of cloth and jewelry with various precious materials such as gold, jade and obsidian.
e.- They did not know the plow, compost or crop rotation, their main system was to cut and graze, that is, they took part of the forest, cut down the trees. then it was set on fire and then planted through the cane or pointed sticks to make holes and sow the seeds, with this system they made sure to plant various crops until the value of the land ran out and do the same elsewhere in the forest .
Mayan Economic Activity
The activity of the Mayan economy is based on a combination of highly planned and traditional trade and primary production. Its commercial relations have allowed the market of agriculture, hunting, fishing and also the exploitation of various mineral resources.
The property of the land belonged to the social elites and these were distributed or divided according to the needs of each society, in this way, they were worked and the resulting production was to honor the sovereign called Halach Uinic.
Later, of everything collected, it was for part of the population and the rest was dedicated to trade with the other city-states.
Organization of the Mayan economy
All economies are based on sectors, the main sector of the Mayan economy was based on agriculture using the Milpa technique.
So they had to cut down a forest area that would later be used for crops until it could no longer bear fruit, and they did so in other places, planting corn, cassava, pumpkin, beans, tomatoes, avocados, and cocoa. Among other things, they also harvested copal, rubber, cotton, tobacco, and palm trees, the latter producing handicrafts.
As part of their main activities, they hunted deer, rabbits, squirrels, and various marine animals in the fishery. They managed to tame bees to use their honey and wax. From its natural resources, they used flint, jade, obsidian, pyrite and clay, with which they made various tools, such as guns and kitchen utensils.
Their secondary activities were created by trading with other communities to supply themselves with the products that they could not produce or obtain. They did this by bartering, sometimes using coffee or cocoa beans as currency within cities.
They had to transport their merchandise long distances loaded on their heads with the mecapal, which consisted of a kind of handkerchief tied on the forehead and with the weight on the back, they bordered the roads that they called sacbe'ob and also the waterways such as the Pasión river in one of its main routes.
This type of trade has become so important that ports such as Tikal in Guatemala, Santa Rita in Belize, Roatán in Honduras and Tulum in Mexico, among others, have been built. Many experts indicate that this type of economy as the engine of this culture is what determined its extinction in a mysterious way.
Type of Economy that Worked at the time of the Mayans
With more than 4000 years of history, we know a lot about this civilization that was established between southwestern Mexico and northern Central America, completely dominating the Yucatan peninsula between 2000 BC and the XNUMXth century, after this century some cities continued subsisting at the end of this century, this civilization began to disappear.
Its economic development had excellent structural developments, astronomical centers, mathematical studies, crafts, arts and various types of tools, its economic structure was very versatile, including barter, the private market, specialist work, trade and state intervention.
Its economy depended exclusively on the exploitation of natural resources, agriculture, jungles, mountains, hunting and fishing animals, together with the labor force of the lowest elite of this society.
Mayan economic exchanges based on private goods existed between different individuals and between cities. The great temples and palaces required work and the administration of their buildings was among the highest elites.
It was a very traditionalist multi-generational society that determined how land would be distributed, animal hunting techniques, who played sports, how taxes would be paid, and how buildings would be constructed according to the status of the people:
Astronomers, farmers, hunters, mathematicians, in fact, commercial transactions were not made directly, but through merchants who facilitated these transactions.
With a fairly irregular land to cultivate due to the type of land, they had to make constant exchanges with other cities and also domesticate animals, dogs, ducks and the breeding of the best known bees.
The land belonged to the nobles and they relied on the fact that their ancestors had owned it, and to ensure that they buried in these soils.
These commercial activities were a fundamental element that determined which city was the most powerful in the empire, and among the most powerful were those with the best roads or ports such as Tazumal, which is now in El Salvador.
The market system consisted of a large square with a permanent structure and many trading posts where they sold food and tools, these places were guarded by state security agents and those who sold there had to pay taxes.
After taxes are collected, they are redistributed among the rest of society and politicians to maintain their positions and powers.
The kings of each city were those who could do international trade with other regions such as Panama, Colombia and New Mexico, among the most important products of this elite were precious stones such as turquoise.
With the trade between the cities, new ideas and people with other knowledge were also transferred, until the last moments of this civilization, the trade remained active and extended to the slave trade and other affiliations that already came from Spain.
Social Economy of the Maya
The Mayan society was very organized and socially hierarchical, each city or state had a maximum authority called Halach-Uinic (Means Man of Truth), this position was hereditary, it had a council of nobles or notables, where their leaders were chiefs and priests.
Then there were the Almehenoob who were at the height of power, the nobles who had inherited their positions, and those who held administrative and military positions.
The Halach-Uinic was the one who appointed the chiefs of each of the villages, called Bataboob, who had the functions of civil, military and religious officials.
The military leader or Nacom was elected every three years, then there were the tupiles or lower-ranking officials and the councilors or Ah Holpopoob.
The lower class was made up of artisans and peasants or Ah Chembal Uinicoob, who worked in the agricultural fields and in the construction of structures such as temples and palaces, they had to pay taxes to officials and priests.
Finally, there were slaves or Pentacoob who were prisoners of war, criminals or people who did not pay their taxes, the latter were those who had to work hard until they paid their debts.
Trade in the Mayan Economy
Trade depended on how the different cities interacted with each other and with the rural areas that were under control. Each city-state had a leader and the power of each of them depended on their organization so that it could increase or decrease.
That is why your economy has seen too many changes in the elites and in the goods that will be distributed. They called these communities or Mayan city-states because they all shared the same religion, the same type of architecture and the same political structure, they lived from agriculture since the classic period around 900 BC. c.
The people of the fields lived sedentary, cultivating their corn, beans, and squash, and domesticating the few animals they knew.
The people in the highlands or lowlands had the same problem of obtaining water for their fields and being able to control them, in the lowlands they could create deposits and get rid of them during the drought, and those highlands managed to make underground aqueducts and thereby avoid floods.
There are reports that the Mayans also practiced high agriculture where they built platforms called chinampas, but still relied on slash and burn.
The trade was long, but how they organized to do it is unknown. There is information that the trade established with the cities of Olmec and Teotihuacán, around 1100 a. c.
Obsidian, jade, seashells and magnetite stones began to be transported to the most populated urban centers, markets were held periodically.
The trade varied over time, and with them they received the support of religion and publicity, a large trade in elaborate ceramics and figurative elements began, and in the same way the ideas began to spread between the peoples and the religion itself.
Which was pushed by the big bosses and the highest elites because they were the ones with the best access to goods and information.
The most sought after artisans were those who could make polychrome vases and carved stone figures, but these were sold only to the elite and they were the ones who controlled this production.
On the other hand, in the lowlands, the artisans were more independent and had no political control behind them, so they could make the crafts they wanted and especially the tools they needed to farm and cultivate their land, as the environments were smaller and rural.
After the post-classical period, cloth and cotton, salt, honey, and beeswax, slaves, precious metals, and even mauve feathers began to be traded, during this period women played a larger role in the Mayan economy, since they made fabrics and blankets, and also weaved.
With the navigation, the trade began to have a greater effect since they managed to reach the shores of the Gulf. Moving along the waterways that crossed through the rivers and the sea, all the communities near the Gulf coast made an intermediary between the highlands and the lowlands, in particular those of Petén.
This was already practiced in Mayan antiquity, but during this last period, the boats or boats were larger and managed to transport more, much heavier than when they did it in canoes or on foot.
Christopher Columbus himself on one of his voyages managed to find one of these ships and described it as a galley more than two meters wide, and that 24 people and the captain could climb on it, plus there were several women and even children. Inside, there was cocoa, metal products such as bells and various types of weapons, ceramics, cotton clothing, as well as wooden swords inlaid with precious stones that they called Macuahuitl.
Summary of its Main Aspects
To summarize the issue, the Mayans did not use coins as such to establish their exchanges with the other city-states, everything that was exchanged, whether it was valuables, cocoa, salt, obsidian or gold, had a different value in each one of them. the more distant the cities, the more precious the products sold.
Their style of coexistence was peaceful, in each city there was a chief or chief who exercised power, it was he who could distribute the land that was a common good of the entire city. They had their deities whom they worshiped or paid homage to by offering sacrifices to animals and also to human beings. Many buildings such as temples and palaces with elaborate reliefs have been left over from their culture, indicating that they had a good group of craftsmen. Their society was economically based on agriculture.
For them, there were two types of items for their trade: prestige and subsistence items. The most prestigious were precious metals, jade, gold, copper, finely decorated ceramics, for the priests they were the articles to do their rituals, any object that could have a status in the Mayan elites was highly sought after and appreciated. .
On the other hand, the elements that remain are those that can be used on a daily basis in cities and in the countryside, such as clothing, food, tools, everyday ceramics such as containers, salt, and many other products.
Each city produced its own maintenance products, especially those used in rural areas by the majority of the Mayan population.
Slashing and burning of forests for planting can allow a piece of land to be sown multiple times until it is no longer productive and then lies fallow. Pottery typically used for cooking can be made at home or in community workshops.
As cities flourished and grew, trade began to increase, and barter did justice to the changes. Tools, salt, or stones could only be obtained in certain areas, so they could be traded and traded for people who didn't have them.
Communities that had a nearby coastline or river could quickly exchange their fish with the nearest communities.
Precious metals and stones were highly sought after by the upper classes of Mayan society. The head of the sun god Kinich Ahau was found in the archaeological city of Altun Ha, located in Belize, it is made of jade and this stone could be found in a source that has only been found in present-day Guatemala. thousands of kilometers specifically in Quiriguá.
Obsidian itself was one of the precious stones of great value for the Mayans, its use in ornaments and ritual weapons was highly appreciated, this stone from volcanoes is a kind of glass and was available in many parts of the country. The Mayan culture, but its color varied depending on the region where it was located, for example, Pachuca's was green, and with them you can establish the commercial routes that the ancient Mayans used to establish their trade.
Even today, this culture and its people are still being studied, and for them there are different archaeological sites in different places where this culture was established and with modern technologies, new things are discovered every time. In Chunchucmil, Yucatán, there is a sparsely populated site that appears to be a Mayan-era market, as many chemical traces of materials have been obtained from elsewhere.
The quality of the soil contains biological agents that suggest that many types of trade have taken place at this site, including food.
There is still much to discover about this culture and its economy, especially if the trade was ordered by the highest elites, or if there was already a previous treatment to carry out the trade, we also do not know what treatment the artisans received and why they were received. This economy collapsed if it was so good and sought after by other city-states, because each city had something that the others needed.
This part of the Mayans and their trade was still a great mystery, the investigations are still complicated because there is no trace of this culture, you get more from the wars they had among themselves and also against their great chiefs, but they did not leave any trace of the trade routes they had.
The primary activities the Mayan economy
In the Mayan economy, the land belonged to the elites, however, they were distributed according to the needs of society, so that they were worked and, with their production, the highest ruler or Halach Uinic was honored. Being mainly farmers, they used the milpa technique, that is, they deforested an area of the jungle to cultivate, until the soil resources were exhausted, doing the same thing in different places.
So, they planted corn, yucca, squash, beans, tomatoes, avocados, and cacao. In addition, with copal, rubber, cotton, tobacco and palm leaves, they made handicrafts.
The other main activities of the economy were the hunting of deer, rabbits, squirrels, turtles and the fishing of some marine species. It is noteworthy that they also practiced the domestication of bees, of which they used honey and wax.
They also used the richness of the soils to exploit mineral resources such as flint, jade, obsidian, hematite, iron pyrite, and clay, to make tools, weapons, utility items, and even dyes.
Trade in the Mayan economy
With self-sufficiency, supported by the primary activities of the Mayan economy, an intense trade was born, both among the main Mayan cities and with other cultures.
At that time, this was the main products traded among the members of this civilization: cocoa, obsidian, ceramics, textiles, tools, corn, fish, jewelry, wood, weapons, copper, gold, honey, salt, beans and avocado.
In general, this commercial activity of the Mayan economy was carried out through barter, although among the citizens, coffee beans were often used as a kind of currency in the markets of the cities or polom.
As for foreign trade, the Mayans transported merchandise over long distances using the mecapal, that is, a strip placed in the front from which the loads hung from their backs.
So, they crossed the white paths called sacbe'ob. They also used canoes to navigate a network of fluvial arteries, highlighting the La Pasión River as one of the main routes.
Trade became so important that ports such as Tikal in Guatemala, Santa Rita in Belize, Roatán Island in Honduras and Tulum in Mexico, among twenty, were built. Being this economic structure, the engine of the Mayan culture, it is almost certain that its collapse was decisive in its mysterious disappearance.
How was the Food of the Mayans?
The Mayan diet was mainly made up of four elements: grains, corn, squash, and peppers. Since the Mayans were primarily hunters, their basic diet of vegetables was accompanied by birds, deer, or monkeys that they hunted, as well as fish.
Their meals consisted mainly of corn tortillas with grains or whatever supplements they had on hand to go with them. The grains, corn, and squash are called "three brothers" as they provide all the necessary nutrients when eaten together.
This culture had as a custom that they hunted, gathered and cultivated their own food. Common meats hunted included monkeys, deer, iguanas, armadillos, manatees, turtles, guinea pigs, tapirs, javelins, and various types of birds. They also ate shellfish, such as lobsters, shrimp, shells, mollusks, and various types of fish.
They managed to invent many foods that are eaten regularly today. They were the first civilization to make corn tortillas and used their avocado crops to make an ancient form of guacamole.
They also invented tamales, which are corn tubes filled with chicken, pork, and vegetables. Additionally, the Mayans were said to be the first to roast cocoa beans to make chocolate, although their version was not sweet.
Mayan diet
Mayan food grew on a large scale and some of the common crops were chili peppers, avocados, tomatoes, guava, pineapple, papaya, squash, sweet potatoes, and red, black, and pinto beans.
The Mayans used to have their first meal of the day, which consisted of beaten eggs, black beans, and plantains. To get protein, they made corn in different ways. These variations include:
An atol, ground corn porridge that they consumed with chili peppers, Posol, a mixture of water and yeast to resist the arduous work of the land.
Tamale, usually mixed with Mayan peppers, meat and spinach, a protein-rich herb native to Guatemala. Staple meals consisted of meat and vegetable stews with pumpkin seeds, squash, and peppers. In addition, deer, armadillos, rabbits, fish, rats, snails, and wasp larvae have been eaten.
Recent studies have shown that meat was not known to make a significant contribution to the Mayan diet before the Spanish introduced cattle, turkeys, pigs, and chickens.
Yucca
Cassava has been cultivated since 600 BC. Also known as yucca, it produces large tubers rich in carbohydrates. This tuber facilitated the maintenance of a civilization as large as the Mayans. Before the pre-classic period, the Mayan diet is believed to have emphasized cassava and cassava rather than maize.
Corn
Corn was part of the Mayan primary agriculture, being a central part of their diet. Corn was used and consumed in various ways, but it was always nixtamalized. This means that the corn has been soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution.
After the corn is nixtamalized, it was usually ground on a metate and prepared in various ways. Tortillas were cooked on a comal and used to wrap other foods such as meat or beans. Tortillas have provided many opportunities for food creation and have allowed people from all walks of life to eat freely.
Tortillas
Major tortillas consisted of a dough about three or four inches thick that was quite thick, providing a strong base for the dish served on it.
This variety of food was often served with some kind of meat and also included avocados or any side dish at a gathering or ritual.
Tamales
Tamales were made with cornmeal, which often contained a filling, which was wrapped in and steamed in the husk of the corn. It is believed that they were created because they were easy to transport.
Like many other popular dishes of the Mayan culture, the tamale included the use of corn husks or banana peels to ferment and improve the cooking process of the food.
After cooking, the tamale was unwrapped and covered with a little sauce; tamales can be served during Mayan holiday celebrations.
Although these dishes can be eaten as is, other ingredients have been added to achieve a greater diversity of flavors. These flavors included chili peppers, cacao, wild onions, and salt.
Chocolate
Cocoa is endemic to the lands occupied by the Mayans, who were the first to take the seeds from the fruits and roast them to make hot chocolate.
Unlike modern civilizations, the Mayans did not make chocolate bars or add sugar or milk to cocoa. The Mayans took to chocolate as a ceremonial elixir and as a flavor enhancer.
The cocoa beans were primarily used to make a version of hot chocolate where they roasted the seeds in water to make a drink that was used as a mood booster.
This drink was also consumed during ceremonies because for this culture, cocoa was a sacred gift from the gods. Due to its lack of sugar and milk, Mayan boiled chocolate was bitter and foamy.
The cacao plant, which literally translates to food of the gods, was loved by all social classes of the Mayan people.
Due to its energizing, stimulating and aphrodisiac effects, couples in this culture drank this hot beverage during wedding and engagement ceremonies.
avocado and guacamole
The avocado, due to its condition of being native to southern Mexico and Guatemala, has been loved by different cultures for its rich flavor and creamy texture; It was a cultivated Mayan treasure. Avocado was mashed and combined with chili peppers or onions, making an old guacamole.
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