SX Seminar - Classic Maya

When:  Sep 23, 2021 from 17:00 to 19:00 (MT)
Associated with  Calgary
Calgary Sigma Xi Seminar Series
Presents:
Wealth Inequality, Networks, and Differential Access to Resources in Classic Maya Society
by
Dr. Amy E. Thompson,
Department of Geography and the Environment at The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Thursday, Sept 23th 2021, 5 pm
Location: Zoom
https://ucalgary.zoom.us/j/97406909985
Meeting ID: 974 0690 9985 Passcode: Good2CU
Abstract:
Differential access to resources resulting in wealth disparities are present in all societies, past and present. Within a single city, wealth inequality may vary among the residential neighborhoods. Here, I explore how differential access to social and ecological resources, such as access to trade, social networks, water, and soils, affect inequality among the Classic Maya (250-800 CE) of southern Belize. Inequality is measured using a Gini coefficient based on house size data as a proxy for wealth, collected from pedestrian settlement survey and lidar data. The variations in wealth inequality are assessed at multiple, nested scales within the Classic Maya cities of Uxbenka and Ix Kuku’il, including neighborhoods, districts, and cities. These results are compared to regional variations in inequality in southern Belize, the greater Maya region, and ancient Mesoamerica. In these ancient contexts, higher degrees of inequality are linked to trade and interpersonal networks, often tied to Maya lords. These findings and the consequences of long term wealth disparities are applicable to modern societies, many of which experience systemic inequality.
Bio: Dr. Amy E. Thompson is an anthropological archaeologist whose research evaluates inequality and human-environment interactions among the Classic Maya (250-900 CE) through settlement patterns, spatial modeling, remote sensing, and household archaeology. For over a decade she has conducted research in southern Belize working alongside indigenous Mopan Maya communities. Her work relies heavily on geospatial methods, including GIS and lidar, and multi-proxy chronology building to understand household decision-making and inherited inequality through a lens of Human Behavioral Ecology. Dr. Thompson is first-author on five peer-reviewed articles, published in PLOS One, the Journal of Archaeological Science, the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, and Remote Sensing; co-authored six additional peer-reviewed articles; and authored several conference proceeding chapters. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Explorer’s Club, the University of New Mexico, and the Copan Maya Foundation. Dr. Thompson earned her BA in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in 2009. She earned her MSc in 2011 and PhD in 2019, both from the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. From 2020-2021, she was a Bass Postdoctoral Fellow at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Thompson is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Texas at Austin.
We wish to acknowledge the Department of Biological Sciences which has provided the venue
and the University of Calgary for providing the Zoom capabilities

Location

Online Instructions:
Url: http://ucalgary.zoom.us/j/97406909985
Login: https://ucalgary.zoom.us/j/97406909985 Meeting ID: 974 0690 9985 Passcode: Good2CU