Which goods were exchanged in Mesoamerican markets?

Mesoamerican markets facilitated the exchange of a wide variety of goods, driven by the environmental diversity of the region and the resulting need for interregional trade. These markets were central to the economy, where cacao beans served as a primary medium of exchange.12

Traded goods included:

• Agricultural Products: Staple foods such as corn, beans, and squash, as well as chili peppers, tomatoes, avocados, pineapples, papayas, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.23
• Commercial Crops: Cotton, tobacco, maguey, and vanilla.23
• Crafts and Manufactured Goods: Pottery, weaving (including cotton and maguey fiber), basketry, featherwork, and lacquerwork on gourd vessels.23
• Luxury and Ornamental Items: Metalwork (gold, copper, and silver), lapidary work (jade, jadeite, turquoise, and serpentine), and meat or fish.3

Trade was often conducted by professional merchants in regularly meeting markets, where specialized communities frequently brought their specific crafts or regional products to the central plazas of host towns.23