Economic Specialization and Construction Personnel in Classic Period Copan, Honduras

Abstract

The degree of development of specialist positions associated with large-scale construction at the Maya site of Copan, Honduras, is evaluated. The methodology used involves the quantification of energy, in human labor, which was expended in the construction of Str. 10L-22, a major palace in the Main Center of Copan. The results suggest that few specialists were required, and that the vast majority of construction personnel were unspecialized conscripts. Moreover, the absolute energetic investment was low, suggesting that energetic expenditures in largescale architecture could not have been a major source of stress on the Late Classic Maya socioeconomic system.

The Classic Maya City: Reconsidering the “Mesoamerican Urban Tradition”

“…In contrast with arguments that limited labor was employed at Copkn (Abrams 1987), urban development at Caracol required massive amounts of labor. Not only was its epicenter rebuilt, but a planned road system for communication with secondary administrative districts was purposefully established throughout the city.…”

12 Elite Household Multicrafting Specialization at 9N8, Patio H, Copan

“…Evidence of well‐developed craft specialization among the Classic Lowland Maya is found in elaborate ritual paraphernalia recorded in iconography and recovered from grave furnishings, offerings, and other ritual cache materials (Adams 1970, 1977; Becker 1973; Culbert 1973; Hammond 1982; Willey 1982; Schele and Miller 1986). Much of the research devoted to Classic Maya craft specialization has focused on the procurement, production, and distribution of lithic materials (Shafer and Hester 1983, 1985; Hester and Shafer 1984; Mallory 1984), with some discussion of specialized production of jewelry (Becker 1973), eccentrics (Hruby 2007), ceramics (Fry 1980; Price 1980), marine shell celt production (Eaton 1974), stone sculpture (Haviland 1974; Abrams 1994, 1987), and greenstone lapidary work (Walters 1979; Kovasevich 2007).…”

Sayil Revisited: Inferring Terminal Classic Population Size and Dynamics in the West-Central Yucat�n Peninsula

“…I suggest that such an assertion, however, is purely impressionistic. Experimental research over the last 40 years indicates that modest energetic investments by relatively small populations could have easily produced impressive monuments (Abrams, 1984(Abrams, , 1987(Abrams, , 1989(Abrams, , 1994Cheek, 1986;Erasmus, 1965;Turner et al, 1981;Webster and Kirker, 1995, p. 376). Although these energetic studies are as profound in their implications as they are elegant in their simplicity, they continue to be rarely cited and largely ignored.…”