Mesoamerican Economy and Archaeology Lab

The research focus in this laboratory is on the reconstruction and study of ancient economy in pre-industrial societies using archaeological, historic, and ethno-archaeological techniques and approaches.  The economy can be characterized in terms of the production, distribution and consumption of material goods.  All three of these economic dimensions are researched in this laboratory where students learn to conceptualize and operationalize economic questions using archaeological materials.  Likewise, we explore the ways that economy is organized in society at both the household and institutional levels.

Ken Hirth has conducted research on prehistoric Mesoamerican economic systems for over 30 years.  He is interested in the development of analytical methodologies appropriate for reconstructing dimensions of prehistoric economic behavior.  Foremost among these is the identification of different contexts of production and the reconstruction of distribution networks through which goods circulated.  Professor Hirth’s research on trade and crafting in both market and pre-market economies has sought to model how commodities moved over space using a distributional approach that matches the empirical location of material remains with the systems of distribution that produced them.  He is particularly interested in the difference between rural and urban economies and how the concentration of population helped to shape production and distribution systems to meet the demands of urban communities.