Ancient Impacts on a Modern Environment: Soil Management and Intensive Agriculture in a Pre-Columbium Urban Context

Summary

This paper investigates the relationship between soil enrichment and ancient urban environments. I will measure the degree to which ancient settlement density and modern agricultural potential correlate. At the Postclassic Maya center of Mayapan, a spatial concentration of black, midden-like soils have been identified by local farmers. Results of systematic soil transect samples tested for physical and chemical properties reveal agricultural potential. Soils from the urban center were compared to those outside of the site core within and beyond the city wall. These data indicate that key features of the modern landscape derive from centuries of Pre-Columbian landscape modification. Geochemical analyses suggest intentional enrichment of and anthropogenic impacts to land use through time.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage