This dissertation assesses the relationship between inequality and the longevity of urban communities. It does so through an examination of low-status households, a population segment I term Urban Commoners, at the ancient Maya city of Aventura, Belize. Aventura was a socioeconomically diverse urban center that grew to its peak in occupation around 750-1100 CE, thriving during a period of stress that resulted in heightened inequality and the depopulation of some cities across the Maya Lowlands (800-900 CE). I argue that although some households at Aventura experienced unequal access, in terms of working knowledge and labor power, to building their households with resource-intensive materials (i.e., cut limestone blocks), these inequities were mitigated through their integration into the social and economic networks of the city. This involvement is seen archaeologically via their use of trade goods and participation in rituals of ancestor veneration. This active incorporation into Aventura’s urban community tied residents of all statuses to the city, making the city resilient during a period of stress and urban depopulation in other parts of the Maya area. While studies of urbanism rarely consider low-status households as key variables in models of urban longevity, archaeologists have shown inequality to have negative impacts on cities. My findings demonstrate that urban longevity is built through the maintenance of robust and diverse city populations, which is achieved through the social and economic integration of vulnerable population segments and the mitigation of extreme inequities.

Creator

• Nissen, Zachary Alan

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-054e-2286

Subject

• Archaeology

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:16230
• etdadmin_upload_927713

Keyword

• Urbanism
• Household Studies
• Commoner Studies
• Maya Archaeology
• Inequality

Date created

• 2022-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright