Irrigation Systems and Other Forms of Intensive Agriculture at the Ancient Maya City of Tikal

Summary

In addition to an extensive short fallow system and the intensive cultivation of dooryard gardens and orchards that probably produced a major portion of the food supply at Tikal, other forms of primary food production were being utilized, as well. Significantly, the Maya seem to have developed intensive hydraulic agriculture in the lands south of the Perdido Reservoir. Stratigraphic profiles, δ13C data, and other forms of archaeological evidence clearly indicate that maize was being cultivated directly below the reservoir. Furthermore, it seems pausable that the areas to the southeast of the Corriental Reservoir could have been managed in the same way. Corriental Reservoir had a switching station at the southeast end that could easily have facilitated irrigation of the fields below. The area to the east of the Tikal Reservoir was another likely location where irrigated agriculture might have taken place. With the input of water from the reservoirs, these areas could potentially have been double-cropped, allowing more than one harvest per year. Bajo margins also were likely areas of significant food production. Along with maize, three species of beans, two species of squash, several species of root crops, cotton, and numerous orchard species, including cacao, were actively cultivated.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Contributions of Vernon Scarborough in Water Management and Sustainability, Part 2: The Classic Maya

Keywords

Spatial Coverage