COMMERCE OF THE MAYA BLOM 425 



cacao beans, " which they prized highly." From the very beginning 

 we are confronted with merchandise and money. 



COMMERCE, TRADE, AND MONETARY UNITS 



In order to give a picture of Maya trade it is obvious that first 

 of all we must understand Maya needs. Our sources of information 

 are the books written by the Conquerors, such as Bernal Diaz' " True 

 History of the Conquest of New Spain " (1G32, 1904) and the reports 

 written by the Conquerors who had received land grants from the 

 king, in answer to royal questionnaires dated 1579 and 1581, and 

 embodied in the two volumes called " Relaciones de Yucatan " (1898, 

 1900). 



Next comes a group of writings by the clergy, foremost among 

 which stands Diego de Landa's " Kelacion de las Cosas de Yucatan " 

 (1864) and several of the works of Las Casas (1909), and then cer- 

 tain contemporaneous second-hand information, such as the narra- 

 tives of Peter Martyr and others. 



Finally, we have archeological, geological, and botanical evidence 

 gathered in recent years. 



Our sources on the Maya are scant, and in order to give complete 

 pictures we must now and then draw upon our knowledge of the 

 Aztecs. 



The staple cereal of the Maya as well as of most other American 

 Indians was maize or corn (icliim). This could be produced in all 

 parts of the Maya area, and only became an object of trade when 

 drought or floods created a scarcity in certain sections. Next in 

 importance followed black beans (buul), peppers, calabashes, and 

 gourds (bush). The gourd was used as a drinking cup. It grows 

 on a tree. The calabash is a creeper, and its dried fruit was and is 

 used for larger vessels. Certain types of gourds are used for water 

 bottles today, just as they were in ancient times. 



Salt is a most important ingredient. We do not realize its ex- 

 treme importance until we are without it. As salt was produced 

 only in limited areas, it naturally became a major trade object. In 

 the Maya area salt was produced chiefly in the salt marshes wliich 

 lie along the northern and western coast of Yucatan from Campeche 

 to Cape Catoche. These marshes were common property of the 

 nations living along their edges, and huge quantities of salt were 

 produced by sun evaporation, and traded to the south. 



In the south several natural salt wells are found, as also in the 

 Tabasco and the southern Vera Cruz region. These wells are geo- 

 logical features, often associated with oil-producing salt domes. 



