Captivity, Slavery and Forced Labor

The existence of slavery among the Maya is asserted in almost all publications, but no systematic effort has yet been undertaken to investigate slavery and other forms of asymmetrical dependency among the Maya on the basis of sources or material evidence. In fact, there is not a single publication on the subject. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that slaves were an important component of pre-Hispanic society, although their proportion in relation to other groups, such as dependent peasants & prisoners of war, has yet to be explored. The planned conference aims to lay the groundwork for a new understanding of slavery & asymmetrical dependency among the Maya from the preclassic period until the present. The aim of the conference is not only to trace the existence and structure of asymmetrical dependency relations among the Maya over a long durée, but also to reconstruct the different ontological conceptions underlying Maya and European ideas of slavery and dependency.