Maya urban genesis reconsidered: Trade and intensive agriculture as primary factors

Maya scholarship, from its inception, has been characterized by a perspective that has stressed the uniqueness of Maya civilization. Specifically, it was assumed that cities did not emerge until the Post-Classic and that intensive agriculture was not practised. Attempts to explain the assumed uniqueness of Maya civilization have usually stressed religious traits. In contrast, geographers and archaeologists have recently demonstrated that the lowland Maya practised intensive agriculture and had well-developed local trade patterns. The notion that the lowland Classic Maya civilization was “non-urban” and “unique” is re-examined.