Ancient Mayan Marketplace Discovered

LiveScience ^ | December 3, 2007 | Andrea Thompson

[SunkenCiv]

Chemical residues found in soil from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula indicate that ancient Mayans traded food in marketplaces, a practice long considered unlikely by archaeologists... [yet] archaeologists have long recognized that the cities were home to more people than the local agricultural capacities could have supported... So for years, archaeologists looked for evidence of advanced farming practices that could have ramped up agricultural capacities beyond what archaeologists can observe, thus sustaining the populations. The idea that Mayans might have imported food and other goods wasn't taken seriously because most archaeologists thought that the Maya elite had a system whereby underlings were paid for loyalty by goods passed down the social ladder. Still, large, open areas found in settlements of the Classic era (about A.D. 300 to 900) seemed to look like possible marketplaces... surface soil samples from Chunchucmil in the western Yucatan [found] phosphorus, left in the soil by decomposed food... [environmental scientist Richard] Terry and his team found concentrations of phosphorous up to 40 times higher in these open areas than those in ancient patios and streets. The pattern of phosphorous residue matched that found in the last remaining modern market that runs atop soil (all other modern markets have been paved).

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Renfield for sending the following link:

Ancient Maya marketplace discovered

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

speaking of new developments...

Maya Rituals Caused Ancient Decline in Big Game
National Geographic News | November 15, 2007 | Kelly Hearn
Posted on 11/20/2007 10:20:23 AM EST by 3AngelaD
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1928352/posts

[wildbill]

In archeology there’s always a naysayer, someone who won’t use Occam’s Razor, but finds the most convoluted explanation for facts on the ground.

Here, they’d probably say this square was an entertainment zone with everyone simply eating the Maya equivilent of hot dogs and hot cocoa.

[blam]

Adam Smith Mayans? (Who knew?)

[r9etb]

Mayans traded food in marketplaces, a practice long considered unlikely by archaeologists...

Then archaeologists are stupid.

[SunkenCiv]

Not stupidity per se, just egregious political bias.