Page 100 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

trading patterns, mesoamerican 1877

Meine Herren, vergessen Sie nicht das Unbewusste ist
auch drausen [Gentlemen, do not forget that the
unconscious is also on the outside]. • C. G. Jung
(1875-1961)

overland, riverine, or coastal. While on the surface it Indeed, a major motivation for Aztec conquests was the
appears that these trading centers were specialized ven- relatively frequent assault and murder of their profes-
ues for high-level economic dealings of professional mer- sional merchants.
chants, they were also hotbeds for more regional and
locally based trading activities. The Significance of
Mesoamerican Trade
Professional Merchants as Throughout the history of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica,
Private Entrepreneurs trade served a number of important functions. It provided
Professional merchants undoubtedly enjoyed a long his- a context for evening out ecological and seasonal varia-
tory in Mesoamerica. They are not specifically docu- tions, allowing for households throughout Mesoamerica
mented prior to the Postclassic; however, as early as the to obtain a wide variety of necessary or desired goods
Formative period, elite goods such as shells and fine from distant regions as well as from the local area.Trade
stones traveled long distances.While this trade may have was an adjunct to specialization, whereby a specialized
operated by goods passing from hand to hand until they producer could be assured of exchange outlets for obtain-
reached their ultimate destinations, their status-linked ing other essential commodities. Far-flung trading net-
nature suggests a more centralized, even politically con- works provided exotic and expensive goods to elites
trolled and generated, method of trade. The Classic throughout Mesoamerica in their efforts to visually
period witnessed a continuation of long-distance trade in enhance their high status. And, in an important general
luxuries destined for the elite (again, probably conducted sense, trade served to integrate broad regions in relatively
by professional merchants or by the elites themselves) sustained and predictable exchanges of goods, informa-
and also saw a growth in exchange of more broadly con- tion, and social relations.
sumed goods, such as ceramics for cooking, storing, and
Frances Berdan
eating; ground stone for grinding implements; and obsid-
ian for tools and weapons. During the Postclassic, pro- See also Trading Patterns, Ancient American
fessional merchants attained unprecedented levels of
wealth and political influence. In the Basin of Mexico
during Aztec times, professional merchants were organ- Further Reading
ized throughout the major cities into their own city Anderson,A. J. O., Berdan, F., & Lockhart, J. (1976). Beyond the codices:
The Nahua view of colonial Mexico. Berkeley and Los Angeles: Uni-
wards, or calpulli. Resembling guilds, calpulli retained versity of California Press.
exclusive membership rights, a system of internal rank- Andrews, A. P. (1983). Maya salt production and trade. Tucson: Univer-
sity of Arizona Press.
ing, a set of specific laws and codes, the ability to man-
Berdan, F. (1982). The Aztecs of central Mexico: An imperial society. Bel-
age their own trading ventures and the wealth derived mont, CA: Wadsworth.
from them, and an advantageous relationship with the Blanton, R. E., & Feinman, G. M. (1984).The Mesoamerican world sys-
tem. American Anthropologist, 86, 673–682.
state. Professional merchants served the state by carrying Brumfiel, E. M., & Earle, T. K. (Eds.). (1987). Specialization, exchange,
state goods on their trading expeditions; they took them and complex societies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Columbus, F. (1959). The life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his
as diplomatic gifts to unconquered rulers or used them in
son Ferdinand (B. Keen, Trans.). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Uni-
profitable exchange negotiations for the state. As men- versity Press.
tioned earlier, some of these professional merchants also Hirth, K. G. (1978). Interregional trade and the formation of prehistoric
gateway communities. American Antiquity, 43(1), 34–45.
served the state as spies in their far-ranging travels. As Hirth, K. G. (Ed.). (1984). Trade and exchange in early Mesoamerica.
private entrepreneurs they became wealthy beyond their Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Hodge, M. G., & Smith, M. E. (Eds.). (1994). Economies and polities in
social standing; as state agents they were esteemed
the Aztec realm. Albany, NY: Institute for Mesoamerican Studies,
by their rulers but often despised in outlying regions. SUNY, Albany.