Anabel Ford | University of California, Santa Barbara (original) (raw)
Videos by Anabel Ford
Maya settlement survey with Lidar, Maya forest gardeners philosophy, conservation and development... more Maya settlement survey with Lidar, Maya forest gardeners philosophy, conservation and development in the Maya Forest. University of California Santa Barbara Production
1 views
Overview of El Pilar in Belize and Guatemala: community participation with Maya Forest Gardeners,... more Overview of El Pilar in Belize and Guatemala: community participation with Maya Forest Gardeners, Archaeology Under the Canopy, and Binational Peace Park initiatives, with support of Jane Goodall. Produced by Exploring Solutions Past
1 views
Books by Anabel Ford
EL JARDÍN FORESTAL MAYA Ocho milenios de cultivo sostenible de los bosques tropicales, 2019
La sabidurıá recibida declara que la civilización maya del Perıódo Clásico 'colapsó' alreded... more La sabidurıá recibida declara que la civilización maya del Perıódo Clásico
'colapsó' alrededor del Siglo X, debido al crecimiento de la población
humana que agotó los recursos naturales. Una agricultura primitiva y
destructiva provocó la deforestación masiva del bosque tropical de la
región, resultando en hambruna y conflictos polıt́icos. El jardín forestal
maya se apoya en varios años de investigación de los autores para
cuestionar esta explicación malthusiana de la historia ecológica de
América Central antigua. Los autores:
· Demuestran que los mayas desarrollaron una agricultura
so isticada y sustentable a largo plazo, basada en el antiguo
sistema de milpa.
· Examinen datos de agroecologı́a tropical y del registro
arqueológico (sobre todo relacionados al cambio climático)
para sostener sus conclusiones.
· Afirman que estas técnicas antiguas, aun aplicadas hoy en dıá ,
son capaces de mantener una población significativa durante
mucho tiempo.
Papers by Anabel Ford
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Routledge eBooks, Aug 10, 2023
The ever-changing Maya landscape depended on the relationship between fields and forest and the n... more The ever-changing Maya landscape depended on the relationship between fields and forest and the natural resources of the Maya forest that provisioned ancient economies. For ancient Mesoamericans, all aspects of the landscape, including cultivation, were rainfall dependent (Whitmore and Turner 1992, 2005) and based on human labor, stone tools, and fire, in the absence of plow or cow (Denevan 1992; Toledo 1990). Clearly, demand for cropped fields inherently reduces land for forests, while at the same time, research indicates that more cleared land increases erosion and reduces fertility (Hooke 2000; Montgomery 2007). As Malthus (1798) wrote more than 200 years ago, the choice is cast for populations utilizing cultivated fields and forest, and today, there are still debates that question the incompatibility of food production and biodiversity (Green et al. 2005). The ancient Maya civilization was based on an agricultural system engaged with the lived landscape (Ford and Nigh 2015; Martinez-Reyes 2016; Steggerda 1941) and associated with investment of labor, knowledge, and skill in directing exuberant tropical growth targeted towards human needs. The Maya civilization developed and expanded for millennia, and their livelihoods and economies were based on reliable land management practices, accommodating variations and change in climate and weather patterns across time and seasonal variability over the year with flexible and resilient strategies and practices. The domesticated Maya forest has been managed, based on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and practices, to meet all the basic household needs: farmlands with varying soil qualities, materials for construction and utensils, fibers and spices, resources for food production, and habitats for hunted animals (Ford 2020). Swidden farming, typified by the milpa cycle, is the deliberate agricultural practice that embeds the field in the context of the local environment (Conklin 1954, 1957, 1971; Dove 1983, 1993). The word milpa comes from the Aztec word for cultivated place, milli pan. As a contraction, it is commonly used to refer to a maize field. Curiously, however, a This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Sep 26, 2022
Cacao seeds, Theobroma cacao, provide the basis for a ceremonially important Mesoamerican food. P... more Cacao seeds, Theobroma cacao, provide the basis for a ceremonially important Mesoamerican food. Past efforts to identify cacao in ceramics focused on highly decorative vessel forms associated with elite ceremonial contexts, creating assumptions as to how cacao was distributed and who could access it. This study examines 54 archaeological ceramic sherds from El Pilar (Belize/Guatemala) of Late Classic (600 to 900 CE) residential and civic contexts representing a cross-section of ancient Maya inhabitants. Identification of cacao in ancient sherds has depended on the general presence of theobromine; we used the discrete presence of theophylline, a unique key biomarker for cacao in the region. Analysis was done by grinding off all outside surfaces to reduce contamination, pulverizing the inner clay matrix, extracting absorbed molecules, and concentrating the extractions. In order to obtain especially high selectivity and low limits of detection, our study utilized the technique of resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization coupled with laser-desorption jet-cooling mass spectrometry. This technique isolates molecules in the cold gas phase where they can be selectively ionized through a resonant two-photon process. Of the sherds analyzed, 30 samples (56%) were found to contain significant amounts of theophylline and thus test positive for cacao. Importantly, cacao is present in all contexts, common to all Maya residents near and far from centers. Maya j cacao j archaeometry Cacao, known as the money that grew on trees, was brought to the world stage by Mesoamericans and the Maya (Fig. 1) (1, 2). The historical background and prehistory of cacao, particularly for the Maya, has been imbued with ceremony and luxury. Studies of glamourous drinking vases, prominent among Late Classic Maya (600 to 900 CE) ceramic vessels highlight imagery of gift giving, ritual, royal prestige, and control. Building on the assumption that ancient Maya royalty controlled cacao disregards the notion that farmer households are those that grow cacao with direct access to their products, and cacao's archaeobotanical presence in residential contexts supports this (3-9). Consequently, the search for cacao residues has targeted regal contexts, but what of the general populace? Our study looks at vessel belongings from both civic and residential contexts across the greater El Pilar area to test the exclusivity of cacao use. In recent decades, studies of cacao residues from ancient ceramics have employed methylxanthine biomarkers-caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline-ushering in a new means of addressing the use of cacao in prehistory. Chemical residue analyses have focused on vessels from elite Maya burials and caches, suggesting cacao represented wealth and power (10-12). Cacao residues have been documented in special vessels from the Late Preclassic, circa 300 BCE (13), identified in a famous Early Classic vessel from Rio Azul (14), and recognized in Late Classic vases (10, 15). Cacao residues from Maya samples have been associated with special and specific archaeological settings at civic centers (10, 15). As the emphasis of residue studies in the Maya area has been on vessels from sumptuary settings, evidence of the presence, access to, and distribution of the consumption of cacao in general residential settings has not been tested. We close this gap by examining a variety of Late Classic Maya vessels from civic and residential contexts of the El Pilar area. For continuity we include vessels from centers, while featuring household contexts to address the consumption of cacao. The examination of Late Classic Maya vessels from households around the general El Pilar area of the central Maya lowlands (Figs. 1 and 2) provides an excellent example case based on local test and full-scale excavations at Maya residential units. What is cacao consumption among the Maya populace? Is consumption restricted to higher ranking houses? Are farmers who might grow cacao, like those of Ceren (4) also consuming cacao? Only a full chemical analysis of the presence of methylxanthine biomarkers in ceramic vessel samples from a wide selection of contexts, including the civic and residential components of Maya society, can answer these questions. Methylxanthines and Cacao. The methylxanthines (SI Appendix, Fig. S1) caffeine (C), theobromine (TB), and theophylline (TP) have been found worldwide in 100 species,
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Ecotheology - Sustainability and Religions of the World [Working Title]
Comparisons of Maya forest gardens, the economic botany of the Maya forest, and identifications o... more Comparisons of Maya forest gardens, the economic botany of the Maya forest, and identifications of plant remains in archaeological contexts converge on the value of the Maya forest as the reflection of the selective favoring of useful plants over time and across space. We have evaluated trees conserved in Maya milpas and present here an annotated list of significant categories of uses that transcend the ordinary, and highlight the extraordinary appreciation of plants and their role in the historical and cultural ecology of land use. Recognition of land cover significance, biodiversity, water conservation, erosion management, soil fertility principles, animal habitat essentials, and support for communities are all entangled with the role of plants. With an example of 160 confirmed trees favored in Maya milpa agricultural fields, we provide a window into economic values that dominate the Maya forest.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Human expansion into and occupation of the New World coincided with the great transition from the... more Human expansion into and occupation of the New World coincided with the great transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene epoch, yet questions remain about how we detect human presence in the paleoecological record. In the Maya area of southern Mesoamerica, archeological evidence of the human imprint is largely invisible until ∼4,000 years ago. How do environmental changes after that time correspond and relate to human impacts? Are the archeological signatures of initial settlements in the Early Preclassic detected? Later, by ∼2,000 years ago when the Maya had fully settled the landscape, how does the evidence of forest compositional changes relate to human intervention? This paper evaluates published paleoecological data in light of the rise of the Maya civilization and reflects on interpretations of how swidden agriculture and the milpa cycle impacted the environment. Evaluating the contrast between the long archeological sequence of successful Maya development and paleoecolog...
Ceramics in archaeology have traditionally served as chronological markers, critical as a relativ... more Ceramics in archaeology have traditionally served as chronological markers, critical as a relative dating technique. This is the case for the Central Lowland Maya area, where the ceramic chronology was established in the 1930s with the Uaxactun project, expanded for the Barton Ramie project, and detailed for Tikal as the type:variety system was refined. As useful as this chronology has been for studies of the ancient Maya, with all our understanding of the chronological distribution, we know precious little of the distribution of vessel form that is a critical component of function. Our chapter examines Late Classic vessel form and shape, in an effort to define the vessel diversity from Maya residential units. By describing the Late Classic Maya assemblage of vessel forms and shapes, we can begin to understand common and variable features of Maya residential unit belongings as they relate to the settlement patterns and the Maya forest landscape.
Maya settlement survey with Lidar, Maya forest gardeners philosophy, conservation and development... more Maya settlement survey with Lidar, Maya forest gardeners philosophy, conservation and development in the Maya Forest. University of California Santa Barbara Production
1 views
Overview of El Pilar in Belize and Guatemala: community participation with Maya Forest Gardeners,... more Overview of El Pilar in Belize and Guatemala: community participation with Maya Forest Gardeners, Archaeology Under the Canopy, and Binational Peace Park initiatives, with support of Jane Goodall. Produced by Exploring Solutions Past
1 views
EL JARDÍN FORESTAL MAYA Ocho milenios de cultivo sostenible de los bosques tropicales, 2019
La sabidurıá recibida declara que la civilización maya del Perıódo Clásico 'colapsó' alreded... more La sabidurıá recibida declara que la civilización maya del Perıódo Clásico
'colapsó' alrededor del Siglo X, debido al crecimiento de la población
humana que agotó los recursos naturales. Una agricultura primitiva y
destructiva provocó la deforestación masiva del bosque tropical de la
región, resultando en hambruna y conflictos polıt́icos. El jardín forestal
maya se apoya en varios años de investigación de los autores para
cuestionar esta explicación malthusiana de la historia ecológica de
América Central antigua. Los autores:
· Demuestran que los mayas desarrollaron una agricultura
so isticada y sustentable a largo plazo, basada en el antiguo
sistema de milpa.
· Examinen datos de agroecologı́a tropical y del registro
arqueológico (sobre todo relacionados al cambio climático)
para sostener sus conclusiones.
· Afirman que estas técnicas antiguas, aun aplicadas hoy en dıá ,
son capaces de mantener una población significativa durante
mucho tiempo.
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Routledge eBooks, Aug 10, 2023
The ever-changing Maya landscape depended on the relationship between fields and forest and the n... more The ever-changing Maya landscape depended on the relationship between fields and forest and the natural resources of the Maya forest that provisioned ancient economies. For ancient Mesoamericans, all aspects of the landscape, including cultivation, were rainfall dependent (Whitmore and Turner 1992, 2005) and based on human labor, stone tools, and fire, in the absence of plow or cow (Denevan 1992; Toledo 1990). Clearly, demand for cropped fields inherently reduces land for forests, while at the same time, research indicates that more cleared land increases erosion and reduces fertility (Hooke 2000; Montgomery 2007). As Malthus (1798) wrote more than 200 years ago, the choice is cast for populations utilizing cultivated fields and forest, and today, there are still debates that question the incompatibility of food production and biodiversity (Green et al. 2005). The ancient Maya civilization was based on an agricultural system engaged with the lived landscape (Ford and Nigh 2015; Martinez-Reyes 2016; Steggerda 1941) and associated with investment of labor, knowledge, and skill in directing exuberant tropical growth targeted towards human needs. The Maya civilization developed and expanded for millennia, and their livelihoods and economies were based on reliable land management practices, accommodating variations and change in climate and weather patterns across time and seasonal variability over the year with flexible and resilient strategies and practices. The domesticated Maya forest has been managed, based on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and practices, to meet all the basic household needs: farmlands with varying soil qualities, materials for construction and utensils, fibers and spices, resources for food production, and habitats for hunted animals (Ford 2020). Swidden farming, typified by the milpa cycle, is the deliberate agricultural practice that embeds the field in the context of the local environment (Conklin 1954, 1957, 1971; Dove 1983, 1993). The word milpa comes from the Aztec word for cultivated place, milli pan. As a contraction, it is commonly used to refer to a maize field. Curiously, however, a This chapter has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND license.
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Sep 26, 2022
Cacao seeds, Theobroma cacao, provide the basis for a ceremonially important Mesoamerican food. P... more Cacao seeds, Theobroma cacao, provide the basis for a ceremonially important Mesoamerican food. Past efforts to identify cacao in ceramics focused on highly decorative vessel forms associated with elite ceremonial contexts, creating assumptions as to how cacao was distributed and who could access it. This study examines 54 archaeological ceramic sherds from El Pilar (Belize/Guatemala) of Late Classic (600 to 900 CE) residential and civic contexts representing a cross-section of ancient Maya inhabitants. Identification of cacao in ancient sherds has depended on the general presence of theobromine; we used the discrete presence of theophylline, a unique key biomarker for cacao in the region. Analysis was done by grinding off all outside surfaces to reduce contamination, pulverizing the inner clay matrix, extracting absorbed molecules, and concentrating the extractions. In order to obtain especially high selectivity and low limits of detection, our study utilized the technique of resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization coupled with laser-desorption jet-cooling mass spectrometry. This technique isolates molecules in the cold gas phase where they can be selectively ionized through a resonant two-photon process. Of the sherds analyzed, 30 samples (56%) were found to contain significant amounts of theophylline and thus test positive for cacao. Importantly, cacao is present in all contexts, common to all Maya residents near and far from centers. Maya j cacao j archaeometry Cacao, known as the money that grew on trees, was brought to the world stage by Mesoamericans and the Maya (Fig. 1) (1, 2). The historical background and prehistory of cacao, particularly for the Maya, has been imbued with ceremony and luxury. Studies of glamourous drinking vases, prominent among Late Classic Maya (600 to 900 CE) ceramic vessels highlight imagery of gift giving, ritual, royal prestige, and control. Building on the assumption that ancient Maya royalty controlled cacao disregards the notion that farmer households are those that grow cacao with direct access to their products, and cacao's archaeobotanical presence in residential contexts supports this (3-9). Consequently, the search for cacao residues has targeted regal contexts, but what of the general populace? Our study looks at vessel belongings from both civic and residential contexts across the greater El Pilar area to test the exclusivity of cacao use. In recent decades, studies of cacao residues from ancient ceramics have employed methylxanthine biomarkers-caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline-ushering in a new means of addressing the use of cacao in prehistory. Chemical residue analyses have focused on vessels from elite Maya burials and caches, suggesting cacao represented wealth and power (10-12). Cacao residues have been documented in special vessels from the Late Preclassic, circa 300 BCE (13), identified in a famous Early Classic vessel from Rio Azul (14), and recognized in Late Classic vases (10, 15). Cacao residues from Maya samples have been associated with special and specific archaeological settings at civic centers (10, 15). As the emphasis of residue studies in the Maya area has been on vessels from sumptuary settings, evidence of the presence, access to, and distribution of the consumption of cacao in general residential settings has not been tested. We close this gap by examining a variety of Late Classic Maya vessels from civic and residential contexts of the El Pilar area. For continuity we include vessels from centers, while featuring household contexts to address the consumption of cacao. The examination of Late Classic Maya vessels from households around the general El Pilar area of the central Maya lowlands (Figs. 1 and 2) provides an excellent example case based on local test and full-scale excavations at Maya residential units. What is cacao consumption among the Maya populace? Is consumption restricted to higher ranking houses? Are farmers who might grow cacao, like those of Ceren (4) also consuming cacao? Only a full chemical analysis of the presence of methylxanthine biomarkers in ceramic vessel samples from a wide selection of contexts, including the civic and residential components of Maya society, can answer these questions. Methylxanthines and Cacao. The methylxanthines (SI Appendix, Fig. S1) caffeine (C), theobromine (TB), and theophylline (TP) have been found worldwide in 100 species,
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Ecotheology - Sustainability and Religions of the World [Working Title]
Comparisons of Maya forest gardens, the economic botany of the Maya forest, and identifications o... more Comparisons of Maya forest gardens, the economic botany of the Maya forest, and identifications of plant remains in archaeological contexts converge on the value of the Maya forest as the reflection of the selective favoring of useful plants over time and across space. We have evaluated trees conserved in Maya milpas and present here an annotated list of significant categories of uses that transcend the ordinary, and highlight the extraordinary appreciation of plants and their role in the historical and cultural ecology of land use. Recognition of land cover significance, biodiversity, water conservation, erosion management, soil fertility principles, animal habitat essentials, and support for communities are all entangled with the role of plants. With an example of 160 confirmed trees favored in Maya milpa agricultural fields, we provide a window into economic values that dominate the Maya forest.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Human expansion into and occupation of the New World coincided with the great transition from the... more Human expansion into and occupation of the New World coincided with the great transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene epoch, yet questions remain about how we detect human presence in the paleoecological record. In the Maya area of southern Mesoamerica, archeological evidence of the human imprint is largely invisible until ∼4,000 years ago. How do environmental changes after that time correspond and relate to human impacts? Are the archeological signatures of initial settlements in the Early Preclassic detected? Later, by ∼2,000 years ago when the Maya had fully settled the landscape, how does the evidence of forest compositional changes relate to human intervention? This paper evaluates published paleoecological data in light of the rise of the Maya civilization and reflects on interpretations of how swidden agriculture and the milpa cycle impacted the environment. Evaluating the contrast between the long archeological sequence of successful Maya development and paleoecolog...
Ceramics in archaeology have traditionally served as chronological markers, critical as a relativ... more Ceramics in archaeology have traditionally served as chronological markers, critical as a relative dating technique. This is the case for the Central Lowland Maya area, where the ceramic chronology was established in the 1930s with the Uaxactun project, expanded for the Barton Ramie project, and detailed for Tikal as the type:variety system was refined. As useful as this chronology has been for studies of the ancient Maya, with all our understanding of the chronological distribution, we know precious little of the distribution of vessel form that is a critical component of function. Our chapter examines Late Classic vessel form and shape, in an effort to define the vessel diversity from Maya residential units. By describing the Late Classic Maya assemblage of vessel forms and shapes, we can begin to understand common and variable features of Maya residential unit belongings as they relate to the settlement patterns and the Maya forest landscape.
Transforming Heritage Practice in the 21st Century, 2019
The Maya forest is a garden, so say the economic botanists. This is the legacy of the ancient May... more The Maya forest is a garden, so say the economic botanists. This is the legacy of the ancient Maya who co-created this landscape over millennia. This heritage knowledge attests to the understanding of the Maya civilization as well as our appreciation of the tradition Milpa-forest garden cycle. Indeed, traditional Maya home-gardens are hailed as the most diverse in the world, yet this legacy is practiced in ever fewer numbers. Wise Maya farmers, whose heritage links to the ancient Maya landscape, use the forest as a garden and build utility in their agricultural landscape thought the practice of the Milpa cycle. They have few followers and they know this is the case. Inspired by the development of the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna, a group of Maya farmers joined together as the El Pilar Maya Forest Garden Network developed to promote a school garden in their community, the village Santa Familia Belize. For 10 years, they offer to educate their children and ...
