Access to social capital and valued resources modulates household decision-making as people seek to occupy the best-quality patches of land available. Prior occupancy, inheritance, and land tenure norms can constrain opportunities resulting in inequality between households. We examined processes of settlement development and structural inequality at two Classic Period (250–900 CE) Maya centers, Ix Kuku’il and Uxbenká, in Southern Belize. From the lens of human behavioral ecology (HBE), we evaluate the predictions of two population density models, the ideal free distribution (IFD) and the ideal despotic distribution (IDD), on household decision-making. To do so, we correlate the initial foundation date of households with nine measurable suitability variables as proxies for social and environmental resources. We conclude that at Uxbenká and Ix Kuku’il, social resources, such as the ability to mobilize labor, cooperation, and access to a transportation corridor, likely influenced where people chose to live. Environmental resources, including good farmland and access to perennial water sources, were widely distributed across the landscape and accessible to everyone. This study highlights the importance of social relationships on household decision-making, which is often difficult to detect in the archaeological record. The development and manifestation of institutionalized inequality are processes relevant to all societies past and present.

人们寻求占据可用的最优质土地时，获得社会资本和有价值的资源可调节家庭的决策。先前的居住，继承和土地使用权规范会限制机会，导致家庭之间的不平等。我们在伯利兹南部的两个经典时期（公元250-900年）玛雅中心Ix Kuku'il和Uxbenká考察了定居点发展和结构不平等的过程。从人类行为生态学（HBE）的角度，我们评估了家庭决策中两个人口密度模型（理想的自由分布（IFD）和理想的专制分布（IDD））的预测。为此，我们将家庭的初始成立日期与9个可衡量的适用性变量相关联，作为社会和环境资源的代理。我们得出的结论是，在乌克斯本卡（Uxbenká）和伊克斯库库伊（Ix Kuku'il），动员劳工，合作和进入交通走廊的能力等社会资源可能会影响人们选择居住的地方。环境资源，包括良好的农田和多年生水的获取，在整个景观中分布广泛，所有人都可以使用。这项研究强调了社会关系对家庭决策的重要性，这在考古记录中通常很难发现。制度化不平等的发展和表现是与过去和现在的所有社会相关的过程。包括良好的耕地和多年生水的获取，在整个景观中分布广泛，每个人都可以使用。这项研究强调了社会关系对家庭决策的重要性，这在考古记录中通常很难发现。制度化不平等的发展和表现是与过去和现在的所有社会相关的过程。包括良好的耕地和多年生水的获取，在整个景观中分布广泛，每个人都可以使用。这项研究强调了社会关系对家庭决策的重要性，这在考古记录中通常很难发现。制度化不平等的发展和表现是与过去和现在的所有社会相关的过程。