Modeling the Milpa-Cycle at Classic Period El Pilar: A New Method for Assessing Maya Subsistence Production

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Provisioning Ancient Maya Cities: Modeling Food Production and Land Use in Tropical Urban Environments" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The ancient Maya city El Pilar was founded in an ecotonal location, where the karstic ridgelands of the greater Petén grade into the alluvial Belize River Valley and coastal plain. Established early in the Middle Preclassic (ca. 1000 BCE), El Pilar grew into a major center that dominated its surroundings in Late Classic times (600–900 CE). The expansion of the city rested on successful adaptations to the tropical forest environment that provided food and other necessities to its growing agrarian population. Survey and mapping of the 20 km2 surrounding El Pilar reveal a highly detailed picture of settlement and land use that can be used to model subsistence adaptations. Identification of primary residential units provides the input for population estimates, and the distribution of architecture and other cultural features illuminates how the Maya of El Pilar shaped and managed their landscape. This paper considers these human imprints against the topographic backdrop revealed by lidar to quantify potential subsistence production based on traditional Maya farming practices. We explore the possibility of agricultural intensification to meet the needs of a growing population in the absence of large investments in infrastructure, of which there is little evidence in the area surrounding El Pilar.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Provisioning Ancient Maya Cities: Modeling Food Production and Land Use in Tropical Urban Environments   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36408.0