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A constitutional approach to cacao money

2020; Elsevier BV; Volume: 61; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101257

1090-2686

Kathryn Sampeck,

Archaeology and ancient environmental studies

Money in Mesoamerica has a long history and many forms; cacao, a tree seed, was one kind of currency. Abundant archaeological evidence of cacao money in Mesoamerica contributes to broader theoretical debates about money and monetization. Among many competing theories of money, the constitutional model of money particularly emphasizes materiality as well as the importance of money in relationships of governance and finance in ways distinct from both classical and chartalist theoretical approaches. The propositions of this theory bear up when tested with Mesoamerican examples. In particular, the Izalcos polity located in what is today western El Salvador is an important late prehispanic to colonial case study because it relied upon cacao money to an unusual degree and had extraordinary levels of cacao production. Archaeological evidence of Izalcos region settlement patterns, built environment, and material culture patterning indicate the political and economic consequences of cacao money for configuring authority, state finance, agricultural production, and commercial systems. This evidence accords with constitutional model expectations, including governance seeking to measure and mobilize material resources and labor in order to deploy their power in public projects as well as contexts of well-developed markets, some degree of commodity trade, and complex household economies.