"Merchants, Markets, and Exchange in the Pre-Columbian World" examines the structure, scale, and complexity of economic systems in the pre-Hispanic Americas, with a focus on the central highlands of Mexico, the Maya Lowlands, and the central Andes. Civilization in each region was characterized by complex political and religious institutions, highly skilled craft production, and the long-distance movement of finished goods. Scholars have long focused on the differences in economic organization between these civilizations. Societies in the Mexican highlands are recognized as having a highly...

The first discussion of Aztec economy to include cross-cultural comparisons with other ancient and premodern societies around the world.