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Shedding light on maritime trade in Mesoamerica

Mérida’s regional anthropology museum, better known as El Palacio Cantón, recently unveiled an exhibit highlighting the importance of trade routes along rivers and coastlines in the Maya world. 

One of the most unique artifacts on display is an ancient wooden canoe. Though relatively small, it is one of the few preserved of its kind and offers a glimpse into the type of ships the Maya would have used to traverse short distances across the ocean, say between El Meco and Isla Mujeres. 

Maya boats were mainly dugout canoes, meaning they were made from a single, hollowed-out tree trunk. These ships ranged from small personal boats to larger vessels capable of carrying multiple people and goods.

First-hand accounts by early European settlers suggest that the Maya built sizable canoes that could carry over 20 people and large quantities of cargo. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

Being the largest island in the Maya world, Cozumel was considered the most important hub, while smaller islands like Isla Mujeres primarily served as pilgrimage sites to deities like the Ix Chel, the goddess of fertility.  

Some researchers suggest that the Maya may have reached Cuba and Jamaica based on trade connections and linguistic similarities in indigenous Taíno words. However, there is little archaeological evidence to back up the idea that the Maya ever settled on these islands for long periods of time.

The Maya likely traveled to the Bay Islands (Roatán, Utila, and Guanaja), using them as stopover points in trade routes to travel deeper into Central America. There are also recent discoveries on the Nicoya Peninsula, today in Costa Rica that have shed light on the ways Mesoamerican peoples (though not necessarily Mayan) used canoes to slowly make their way along the coastline of Central America to establish trade routes. 

There is still a good deal of debate regarding whether or not the Nicoya Peninsula should be considered part of Mesoamerica, but regardless, the influence is visible, and the discoveries made in this area are fascinating. Photo: Courtesy

The trade of goods in ancient Mesoamerica ranged from luxury items like jade, obsidian, and cacao beans to everyday items like cotton and textiles, ceramics, and pottery, as well as specialized tools. 

To the layperson, shells basically look the same; for archaeomalacologists (archaeologists who specialize in shells), their discovery in locations that are not native is a clear sign of trade. Different types of shells were used for various purposes, including forging tools, plaster, and even impressive works of art. 

The exhibit also features artifacts found in Yucatán, but whose origins lay in central Mexico or Oaxaca, as is the case of a tiny golden frog with jade eyes whose origin is most likely Zapotec.

Among the cultures of Mesoamerica, the Zapotecs had the most access to precious metals like gold, which they forged jewelry, funerary masks, and other luxury goods. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

Aside from the exchange of goods, maritime routes, and rivers allowed the Mesoamerican peoples to spread their influence, knowledge, and religion to parts of the continent that were difficult to traverse by foot, as beasts of burden like horses and donkeys were not introduced to the Americas until the arrival of the Spanish. 

The exhibit at Palacio Canton also features figures from Jaina, an island just off the coast of Campeche, and includes an artifact depicting Siamese twins. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine

Note: El Palacio Canton is currently undergoing maintenance. The temporary entrance is on Calle 58.

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