Inequality is an intrinsic element of contemporary societies, with high income disparity impacting everything from life expectancy to violent crime. While inequality in today’s society is complex and multifaceted, the prominence and persistence of inequality that existed throughout human history raise important questions about its broader impacts in the past. In this paper, we discuss the concept of quality of life (QOL) for archaeology and introduce methods for studying multiple dimensions of wealth and well-being in past societies. Using previously published burial data from the ancient Maya site of Altar de Sacrificios, we illustrate this approach employing notions of personhood that treat individuals embedded in complex socio-material relations. These data enable diachronic analyses in the degree and kinds of inequality that characterized this Maya community over a span of nearly 2000 years. We further discuss how these techniques can apply to other units of archaeological analysis and comparative case studies. Tracing the disparities in material wealth, social well-being, and health through time enables a more detailed analysis of the specific contexts and historical processes that gave rise to varying degrees of inequality in the past.

不平等是当代社会的内在因素，高收入差距影响着从预期寿命到暴力犯罪的一切。尽管当今社会中的不平等现象是复杂且多方面的，但整个人类历史上一直存在的不平等现象的突出和持续存在，引发了有关其过去更广泛影响的重要问题。在本文中，我们讨论了考古学的生活质量（QOL）概念，并介绍了研究过去社会中财富和福祉的多个维度的方法。使用先前从Altar de Sacrificios古代玛雅遗址发布的埋葬数据，我们说明了这种采用人格观念的方法，这种方法对待嵌入复杂的社会物质关系中的个人。这些数据可以对近2000年跨度的不平等程度和不平等程度进行历时性分析，这是玛雅人社区的特征。我们将进一步讨论这些技术如何应用​​于考古分析和比较案例研究的其他部门。通过时间追踪物质财富，社会福祉和健康方面的差距，可以对过去导致不同程度的不平等程度的特定背景和历史过程进行更详细的分析。