Abstract

VALENCIA RIVERA, Rogelio. Aj Atz'aam, “The Salt People”. The Use of Salt at the Maya City of Calakmul. Estud. cult. maya [online]. 2020, vol.55, pp.11-40.  Epub Dec 09, 2020. ISSN 0185-2574.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.ecm.55.2020.0001.

This paper shows the existence of the transportation and exchange of goods that could not be produced, or were not even present locally, to satisfy a community’s self-consumption, due to an increase in population during the late Classic in the Maya area. Although some studies discuss the exchange of goods in Maya society during the Classic period, they are usually centered on the objects employed by the Maya elites. In this case, I will analyze the role of salt as an indicator of the existence of exchange activities using the evidence available in the mural paintings in the Maya city of Calakmul. The need of the mineral for human consumption, the lack of local sources of the mineral, and the long distance to salt sources, set the stage for exchange travels in order to import it to Calakmul.

Keywords : salt; exchange; merchants; mural paintings; Calakmul.

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