Low-density urbanism is ubiquitous in the industrialized world, with suburbs and sprawling urban zones like the American Northeastern Seaboard being classified as such. Due to outsized environmental impacts and perceived unsustainability, this settlement pattern is often maligned. As one of the few prominent examples of agrarian-based low-density urbanism, the ancient Maya can provide a much-needed case study on the sustainability of low-density urbanism. Therefore, a thorough assessment of the universality of low-density urbanism among the ancient Maya is warranted. Maps of 11 Maya sites were collected from published sources, digitized, and used to calculate household group densities. No significant difference was observed between Classic and Postclassic sites, but sites in the northern Lowlands were significantly denser than those in the southern Lowlands. Additionally, no significant inverse correlation was found between site density and area, which would be expected if low-density urbanism was universal among the ancient Maya.
Author Keywords: Household Archaeology, Low-Density Urbanism, Maya, Settlement Archaeology