Terracing, Agricultural Strategies, and Resilience at the Ancient Maya Minor Center of Waybil (original) (raw)
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Investigations of the Agricultural Terracing Surrounding the Ancient Maya Center of Minanha, Belize
Since the 1970's it has generally been understood that intensive agricultural practices were essential to the development of ancient Maya state formation in the Vaca Plateau. Terraced field systems were the method of choice with respect to the enhancement of agricultural production. Yet, we still have a limited understanding of the development and expansion of terrace systems found throughout the Plateau. Over the past nine years a number of researchers have attempted to build a more detailed understanding of the terrace field system at the ancient Maya center of Minanha. The results of the ongoing study will be detailed in this paper, with particular emphasis on the factors involved in the initial development of the field systems and what drove its eventual expansion.
This thesis presents the results of an investigation into the socio-economic and socio-political organization of intensive agricultural production at the ancient Maya centre of Minanha. The ruins of this small city-state, located in the rugged north Vaca Plateau of west-central Belize, are surrounded by dense, large-scale, and orderly agricultural terracing. This study sought to assess the degree of labour organization involved in the creation of this ancient agricultural landscape by investigating the spatial patterning of terracing and settlement, terrace construction, and the chronological development of a 5 ha area containing several ancient farmsteads. Excavations indicate that terrace construction was heavily influenced by the step-like structure of the limestones making up the Vaca Plateau, suggesting lower labour inputs than had previously been attributed to terracing of this type from elsewhere in the lowlands. This evidence is interpreted to indicate that the construction of terracing at Minanha need not have required the direct involvement of state-level initiatives in the intensification of agricultural production. Furthermore, it is argued that variability in terrace and residential construction are likely indicative of the organization of labour at the level of individual farming households or local corporate groups, operating within a city-state economy.
Resilience and Vulnerability in the Maya Hinterlands
Given their grand architecture, intricately carved monuments, and colorful histories, the largest Maya centers have long drawn the attention of archaeologists and non-specialists alike. Early interest in the infamous Maya collapse was, in fact, initially inspired by the discovery of these "lost cities in the jungle." This research focus was further stimulated by advances in deciphering the Maya hieroglyphic script, and the recognition that monument erection-or in other words, the written histories of most of the southern Lowland centers-came to a rather abrupt end in the 9th century C.E. IHOPE scholars are attempting to elucidate the conditions that lead to the decline of these impressive centers. In doing so, the trajectories of smaller communities, and or those located in hinterlands between the more prominent centers, have emerged as interesting counterpoints that provide unique, and no less significant, examples of resilience and vulnerability. The emerging data suggest that these communities had specific strengths and weaknesses, which in turn provided them with a particular set of challenges, as well as a specific range of coping mechanisms they could marshal when dealing with their ever-changing environment circumstances (i.e., climate change, resource availability, landscape modifications), and the highly dynamic geopolitical landscape within which they were embedded. This chapter will discuss some of the key insights derived from our examination of hinterland communities, with particular attention being paid to the broader implications of the contrasting trajectories exhibited by these segments of ancient Maya society. [archaeology, Maya, hinterland, innovation, resilience]
11 Resilience and Vulnerability in the Maya Hinterlands
Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 2014
Given their grand architecture, intricately carved monuments, and colorful histories, the largest Maya centers have long drawn the attention of archaeologists and non-specialists alike. Early interest in the infamous Maya collapse was, in fact, initially inspired by the discovery of these "lost cities in the jungle." This research focus was further stimulated by advances in deciphering the Maya hieroglyphic script, and the recognition that monument erection-or in other words, the written histories of most of the southern Lowland centers-came to a rather abrupt end in the 9th century C.E. IHOPE scholars are attempting to elucidate the conditions that lead to the decline of these impressive centers. In doing so, the trajectories of smaller communities, and or those located in hinterlands between the more prominent centers, have emerged as interesting counterpoints that provide unique, and no less significant, examples of resilience and vulnerability. The emerging data suggest that these communities had specific strengths and weaknesses, which in turn provided them with a particular set of challenges, as well as a specific range of coping mechanisms they could marshal when dealing with their ever-changing environment circumstances (i.e., climate change, resource availability, landscape modifications), and the highly dynamic geopolitical landscape within which they were embedded. This chapter will discuss some of the key insights derived from our examination of hinterland communities, with particular attention being paid to the broader implications of the contrasting trajectories exhibited by these segments of ancient Maya society. [archaeology, Maya, hinterland, innovation, resilience]
Gardens on Hills: Ancient Maya Terracing and Agricultural Production at Chan, Belize
2008
This dissertation examines the organization of production on the agricultural terraces at the site of Chan in the Belize River valley. Chan is an ancient Maya farming community with an over 2000 year history and a high density of agricultural terraces. Located 4 km from the site of Xunantunich, Chan’s population increases dramatically in the latter half of the Late Classic (A.D. 600-800 or 830), concomitant with the rise of Xunantunich as a polity capital. My research addresses how the production of the agricultural terraces at Chan was organized and managed, and how the agricultural production which commenced in the Middle Preclassic (650-300 B.C.) was affected by the later rise of Xunantunich. Archaeologists often take a top-down approach to the study of agriculture and farmers, emphasizing the role of elites as the prime motivating factor in agricultural production, and neglected the study of small-scale sites in favor of an archaeological focus on large, urban centers. My research takes a bottom-up approach by focusing on farmers and their means of agricultural production and demonstrates that farmers at Chan developed complex agricultural technologies independent of external pressures from elites. The agricultural terraces at Chan display a complexity of construction and use that extends far back in time, and reveals the farmers’ intimate knowledge of the landscape. The results of this research demonstrate the importance in concentrating archaeological investigations on the landscape and away from large, urban centers. These results were achieved through extensive excavations of terrace walls, horizontal exposures of terrace beds, and explorations in associated structures; an extensive strategy not previously utilized in studies of terrace systems in the Maya area. My dissertation will advance our understanding of the relationship between agricultural producers and ancient political economies, while refining methodological approaches to the study of ancient agricultural technologies.
Investigating the Social Organization of Intensive Agricultural Production at Minanha, Belize
This paper presents the results of a two-year study of extensive agricultural terracing at the ancient Maya centre of Minanha, Belize, investigating the social organization of agricultural intensification. Work focused on a 5 ha area containing dense terracing and residential remains, focusing on three lines of evidence: the spatial patterning of settlement remains, terrace construction, and the developmental chronology of this ancient agricultural landscape. Results suggest that the construction of terracing was heavily influenced by local geology, and that the terracing at Minanha was likely the result of long-term investments in the creation of agricultural plots suitable for intensive cultivation at the level of individual households.
Praca magisterska na kierunku archeologia w zakresie: Archeologia Ameryk Praca wykonana pod kierunkiem: Profesor Nikolai Grube Warszawa, czerwiec 2013 2 Streszczenie: Tarasy rolne były jednym z podstawowych sposobów intensywnego rolnictwa. Celem pracy jest synteza obecnego stanu wiedzy na temat tarasów rolnych w kulturze Majów. Dwa pierwsze rozdziały pracy przedstawiają zarys kultury Majów, przegląd dotychczasowego stanu badań, teorii i podejść do problemu rolnictwa w tej kulturze. Następnie omówione zostały metody, stosowane w badaniach zjawiska, typologie i funkcje omawianej grupy konstrukcji. Główną częścią pracy jest omówienie przedstawionych w literaturze tarasów rolnych na obszarze Majów, które jest poprzedzone o przegląd prekolumbijskich tarasów rolnych na obszarze Mezoameryki. W oparciu o przedstawiony materiał przedyskutowano rolę tarasów w kulturze Majów w relacji do innych form upraw stosownych w tej kulturze, częstości ich występowania i datowania poddając krytyce dotychczasowe teorie. Pozostałości tarasów rolnych dowodzą zróżnicowania regionalnego systemów zarządzania zasobami ziemi uprawnej oraz wysokiego zaawansowania technik rolnictwa. Brak jest jednak przesłanek do wysuwanej w badaniach spekulatywnej tezy o przemożonym wpływie elit lub presji populacyjnej na rozwój tej zróżnicowanej grupy obiektów.
Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 2014
In this article we present for discussion certain aspects of settlement and paleo-environmental data obtained over the last few years for the northwestern Maya lowlands. Accordingly, our goal is to identify a point of departure for future research by presenting a list of possible "environmental attractors" that might later be used for a better understanding of the seemingly divergent trajectories shown by ancient communities located in different physical settings-particularly in the Sierras region and the Usumacinta plains, Mexico. Our study is based on the paleopedological record of the region. Paleosols are good paleo-environmental proxies and, with the climate information, they are indicators of past human activities and land use. In the Maya lowlands, they have been used extensively to register changes in environmental conditions and human impact on the soil cover. Nevertheless, this study represents the first attempt in that same direction in the northwestern Maya lowlands. [settlement patterns, paleoenviromental reconstruction, northwestern Maya lowlands.]