Early Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands

Authors

Mary D. Pohl, Florida State University
Kevin O. Pope, Geo Eco Arc Research
John G. Jones, Texas A&M University
John S. Jacob, Fugro International
Dolores R. Piperno, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Susan D. deFrance, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
David L. Lentz, New York Botanical Garden
John A. Gifford, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Marie E. Danforth, University of Southern MississippiFollow
J. Kathryn Josserand, Florida State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1996

Department

Anthropology and Sociology

Abstract

Wetland research in northern Belize provides the earliest evidence for development of agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Pollen data confirm the introduction of maize and manioc before 3000 B.C. Dramatic deforestation, beginning ca. 2500 B.C. and intensifying in wetland environments ca. 1500-1300 B.C., marks an expansion of agriculture, which occurred in the context of a mixed foraging economy. By 1000 B.C. a rise in groundwater levels led farmers to construct drainage ditches coeval with the emergence of Maya complex society ca. 1000-400 B.C. Field manipulations often involved minor modifications of natural hummocks. Canal systems are not as extensive in northern Belize as previously reported, nor is there evidence of artificially raised planting platforms. By the Classic period, wetland fields were flooded and mostly abandoned.

Comments

Publisher Version

Publication Title

Latin American Antiquity

Volume

7

Issue

4

First Page

355

Last Page

372

Recommended Citation

Pohl, M. D., Pope, K. O., Jones, J. G., Jacob, J. S., Piperno, D. R., deFrance, S. D., Lentz, D. L., Gifford, J. A., Danforth, M., Josserand, J. (1996). Early Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Latin American Antiquity, 7(4), 355-372.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/15375