Agriculture and Trade in the Colonial Period Southern Maya Lowlands

Soil constraints on Northwest Yucatán, Mexico: Pedoarchaeology and Maya subsistence at Chunchucmil

“…Cacao is one of many species that comprise Maya silviculture, a complex food production system usually associated with extensive populations. Studies of indigenous silviculture in this region (Nations and Nigh, 1980;Gomez-Pompa, 1987) and discussion of orchards in the Post-Conquest period (Tozzer, 1941:196 -200;Whitmore and Turner, 1992;Jones, 1982) implicate its importance for northwest Yucatá n (Kepecs and Boucher, 1996).…”

“…Colonial documents indicate extensive orchards (Jones, 1982), and indeed de Landa commented about the great diversity of trees for many purposes (Tozzer, 1941:196 -200). Several scholars have discussed forest gardens within aguadas, VOL.13, NO.8 cenotes, and sascaberas (sascab extraction pits), "tree gardens" (caanché) or raised beds filled with organic materials and soil to grow vegetables and seedling trees for transplanting, and solares (Kepecs and Boucher, 1996;Beach and Dunning, 1995;Killion, 1992;Gomez-Pompa, 1987).…”

Mosaics of Maya Livelihoods: Readjusting to Global and Local Food Crises

“…In addition to reflecting on the ways Maya in southern Belize have experienced agricultural development agendas, a historically grounded look at economic and agricultural change in the larger region provides a way to make sense of the precarious food inflation problem that now confronts residents of Toledo District. One way to conceptualize the transformation of cultural landscape activities is to consider the ways Q’eqchi’ Maya living in southern Belize, Peten, and Alta Verapaz created a flexible, responsive “mosaic” of livelihood strategies over time (see Figure 2; see also Carter and Snedaker 1969; Dunham et al 1989; Fedick 1996; Grandia 2006; Jones 1982; Schwartz 1990; Wilk 1997). The term mosaic has been previously applied to Maya subsistence practices by archaeologists working in the region (Dunham et al 1989; Fedick 1996; Scarborough 1996), who through an accumulation of data about ancient Maya societies’ interactions with their environment revealed a “mosaic of landscapes which were perceived and managed in various ways in different places and times, often in response to changing political, as well as economic, pressures” (Fedick 1996:14).…”

“…In my analysis, recent spikes in staple food prices and the resulting turmoil are locally and regionally contextualized through a discussion of the ways Maya in Belize have created a flexible, responsive “mosaic” of livelihood strategies over time (Carter and Snedaker 1969; Dunham et al 1989; Fedick 1996; Grandia 2006; Jones 1982; Schwartz 1990; Wilk 1997). Many development organizations, lending banks, and other international actors tend to ignore such cyclical encounters in assessing how small farmers and poor families can and should respond to such a rapidly changing crisis.…”

Genetic variation among cultivated selections of mamey sapote (Pouteria spp. [Sapotaceae])

“…The mamey sapote seed was an important source of oil because fat was limiting in Mayan diets (Lentz 1999 (Jones 1982). In addition, it can be inferred that pre-Colombian trade brought mamey sapote to Cuba, as "mamey" was the Arawak name for the fruit that the Mayans called "ha'az" (Marcus 1982).…”