Compare And Contrast Mesoamerican And Mayan Economy

755 Words2 Pages

Ancient Mayan civilization was centred in the Mesoamerican regions and is well known for developments in the fields of writing, art, architecture, astrology, and mathematics. Being particularly noted for having the only known fully developed writing system in pre-Columbian America. The Mayan civilization is estimated to have lasted for approximately 3000 years. First originating in 2000 B.C and thriving until 900 A.D, when it mysteriously collapsed. Leaving only abandoned cities that offer little explanation of what happened to the culture and its people. The Mayans traded all along ancient Mesoamerica as well as with visiting cultures, though, they mainly traded amongst themselves. Most commonly trading from city to city due to how spread …show more content…

Both utilize a mixed capitalist command economy, though the modern government wields far more power over the economy, doing much more than merely ensuring that citizens could both afford and receive necessary goods. Both economies offer a mix of goods and services and have grown relatively large due to the abundance of natural resources available to them. For the Mayans, it was produce, salt, obsidian, and gold. For Canadians, it’s lumber and oil. Though, the economies also have their differences, aside from the basics of what goods they sell, the Mayan economy is also far more closed off than the Canadian one. Mayan economy places an emphasis on trading within Mayan borders and has a majority of their population working in the production of goods through agriculture, mining or craftsmanship. Meanwhile, Canada has opened itself up to global trading, and has a majority of its population working in the service sector. Additionally, the Mayan’s solely bartered, lacking any form of official currency, while Canadians rely on the Canadian dollar. Ultimately, the developments that Mayans made in their economy are very impressive for the time. It would be interesting to see how similar these two economies would look if the Mayan civilization was around in modern

More about Compare And Contrast Mesoamerican And Mayan Economy

Open Document