“Paint it black”: Wealth‐in‐people and Early Classic Maya blackware pottery

Michael G. Callaghan

Economic Anthropology, 2020, vol. 7, issue 2, 228-240

Abstract: During the Early Classic period in the Maya lowlands (AD 250–600), black serving vessels were placed as offerings in the highest‐status elite burials. Complicated forms and sophisticated decorative conventions transformed these simple ceramic containers into precious social valuables that were deposited with only the most privileged individuals. This article presents new data, analyses, and interpretations of the production and exchange of Early Classic blackware that are informed by the concepts of wealth‐in‐people as wealth‐in‐knowledge. I specifically ask whether Early Classic Maya blackware was produced and exchanged by highly skilled artisans who were commissioned by political elites in an effort to grow political followers through gifting and increase a leader's wealth‐in‐people. This research demonstrates that Early Classic blackware was produced and consumed as a means to aid kings in becoming venerated ancestors. Blackware was part of a performative process of maintaining a leader's social network that continued in death and that was emphasized by descendants as a means to further legitimize their own accession and political futures.

Date: 2020
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