Classic Maya Settlement Clusters as Urban Neighborhoods: A Comparative Perspective on Low-Density Urbanism

Classic Maya Settlement Clusters as Urban Neighborhoods: A Comparative Perspective on Low-Density Urbanism. Some archaeologists have suggested recently that clusters of houses at Classic Maya sites functioned as urban neighborhoods. This article presents comparative historical and ethnographic data...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Michael E. Smith
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société des américanistes 2011-10-01
Series:Journal de la Société des Américanistes
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Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/13456
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Summary:Classic Maya Settlement Clusters as Urban Neighborhoods: A Comparative Perspective on Low-Density Urbanism. Some archaeologists have suggested recently that clusters of houses at Classic Maya sites functioned as urban neighborhoods. This article presents comparative historical and ethnographic data from low-density cities to support this interpretation. I review two Mesoamerican cases: the Aztec calpolli and the modern Tzotzil house cluster; and urban clusters in two African cases: the Nupe city of Bida in West Africa and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The kinds of social relationships, activities, and conditions that characterize neighborhoods in high-density cities are also found in the comparative examples of house clusters. This comparative information strengthens the argument that clusters of houses served as neighborhoods in Classic Maya cities.
ISSN:0037-9174
1957-7842