Beyond house size

Alternative estimates of wealth inequality in the ancient Maya Lowlands

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6034136
AutoresJessica Munson (0000-0002-2362-3804, Lycoming College, autor de correspondencia), Jonathan Scholnick (Bucknell University), Andrés G Mejía Ramón (0000-0002-9006-2381, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University), Lorena Paiz Aragón (Universidad del Valle de Guatemala)
Año2023
Volumen34
Número3
Fecha de publicación2023-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAncient Mesoamerica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0956-5361 • E-ISSN: 1469-1787
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0956536123000044
OpenAlexW4393259226
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10

House size provides a comparative measure of household wealth that enables archaeologists to track global trends in inequality across a range of sedentary societies. Such approaches hold particular promise for Maya archaeology given its long history of settlement pattern research and recent applications of LiDAR to map large areas surrounding ancient Maya cities. Estimating dwelling size, however, is not a trivial exercise. This article addresses potential confounds associated with geometric-based estimates (volume and area) and compares traditional house size-based measures of wealth with other estimates of house size and quality of life indicators. Settlement pattern data from the Upper Usumacinta Confluence Zone, recently collected by the Proyecto Arqueológico Altar de Sacrificios, combined with previously published excavation data provide a robust dataset to evaluate alternative measures of wealth beyond house size

Archaeology · Geography · Inequality · Maya · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Mathematics