cultural dynamics of mercantilism at Yaxchilan

A model establishes the cultural processes by which Yaxchilan became a major Lowland Maya mercantile center. The iconography and inscriptions are first examined to show that the political organization represented an epiphenomenal cultural process in Yaxchilan's florescene. The mercantile model based on known facts, examines many components relevant to the development of Yaxchilan's economic organization, namely, location, topography, climate, transportation systems, the Polanyi Port of Trade model, trade goods and their movement, socioeconomic organization, unprecedented site improvements, Maya trade networks and ideology. Areas for future study are articulated.