College
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
Date of Last Revision
2026-04-28 12:35:09
Major
Anthropology
Honors Course
ANTH497-001
Number of Credits
3
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2026
Abstract
The region of Mesoamerica has been researched extensively by archaeologists over the past decades. There are numerous cultures and civilizations that occupied Mesoamerica over thousands of years. This paper will focus on the Maya, one of the most researched and examined of the cultures of Mesoamerica. By examining the ceramics and trade of the Maya one can reconstruct how the Maya identity was viewed in the past. Often the Maya are suggested to have experienced a collapse at the end of the Classic period around (AD 900). This, however, is an oversimplification of the events that occurred. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of cultures in Mesoamerica and demonstrate how resistance and identity can be seen in the archaeological record. Persistence of the Maya identity was examined through a review of literature on ceramics and trade through a lens of identity theory. This has revealed that in the face of monumental change, the Maya identity from earlier periods persists, even into the modern day.
Research Sponsor
Timothy Matney
First Reader
Maeve Marino
Second Reader
Elena Popa
Honors Faculty Advisor
Timothy Matney
Proprietary and/or Confidential Information
No
Community Engaged Scholarship
No
Recommended Citation
Swanson, Mason A., "Ceramics and Trade in Mesoamerica: Identity and Resistance in the Maya Culture" (2026). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 2147.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/2147