2 Reconfiguring Market Economy: Dimensions of Exchange and Social Relations at Teotihuacan

Abstract

Polanyi's categorical models of exchange systems (reciprocity, redistribution, and market exchange) have provided a powerful tool for characterizing ancient (and modern) economies. While such models are useful in some respects, they obscure variations within each economic system and similarities between different systems. This chapter explores different dimensions of exchange, including market exchange, as a methodological framework for assessing the nature of exchange systems. Then, it examines the nexus of economy and social relations and provides a more nuanced understanding of the variations and commonalities of economic systems using a case study from Teotihuacan, the capital of a regional state in pre-Contact Mesoamerica (150–600 CE). [exchange, market economy, Polanyi, consumption approach]