Nabil Mejia

PhD
Anthropology

My research looks forward to examining if the social status among royal and commoner Maya communities during the Classic Period (250-900 AD) in the Copán Valley, Honduras, influenced their purposes for cloth production, such as domestic consumption or household needs, market exchange, and tribute payment. I focus on the metric and contextual analysis of textile production-related tools such as archaeological spindle whorls and bone needles from royal, elite, and subordinate sites to the Classic Period Copan Maya state. I believe that through this research, it is possible to elucidate social and political relationships involved in textile production, which were integral to the political economy of ancient complex societies such as the Classic Maya.