Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Ancient Maya Agricultural Terraces and Political Economy at Chan, Belize

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Under the supervision of Joel W. Palka, Andrew Wyatt will excavate agricultural terraces and associated structures at the site of Chan, Belize. The Chan site is a small, ancient Maya farming village located in the upland terrain between the Macal and Mopan drainages of the Belize River in western Belize. Occupied from the Middle Preclassic period to the Early Postclassic period (900 B.C.-1200 A.D.), Chan's period of highest population and intensive land use was during the latter part of the Late Classic Period (A.D. 670-780) when it was incorporated into the Xunantunich polity, a large center 4km away. The Belize River Valley area, where Chan is located, is an important area of agricultural production in Maya society, but the Chan site in particular with 304 terraces per km contains the highest density of terraces recorded in Belize, suggesting its primary role as an agricultural center and its importance for the study of intensive terrace agricultural technologies. Given Chan's longevity of occupation, its late incorporation into the Xunantunich polity, and the predominance of agricultural terraces, it is an ideal place to study the role of agricultural and agrarian producers throughout long periods of socio-political changes in a complex society. Utilizing archaeological, paleoethnobotanical and soils analysis, this project will investigate the specifics of Maya agriculture, including 1) how the agricultural terraces were constructed, 2) how they were farmed, and 3) how they related to the adjacent households. Through the analysis of these ancient agricultural technologies one can understand how the agricultural producers at the Chan site functioned within the regional Maya political economy. Archaeologists have long recognized that intensive agricultural strategies, such as terracing, raised fields, and irrigation works, are means through which people are able to extract more resources from than land. But debates still continue as to when and why farmers would turn to intensification. Was it a response to high populations? Extractive political economies? Or a development from the local knowledge bases of agrarian focused households and communities? Agricultural methods and technologies, therefore, provide an excellent means to address a broad range of issues relating to household, local, and regional economy. By focusing on the agrarian producers at Chan, the research will contribute to an understanding of the political economy of the Xunantunich polity and the Belize River Valley. This research will also add detailed knowledge of intensive agricultural practices in the form of terraces which can be added to the existing database of information on terraces recorded throughout Belize and the Maya Lowlands in general. Understanding of the agricultural practices of Maya farmers from the early settlement of the Chan site through its incorporation into the Xunantunich polity and after, will provide a diachronic perspective on the general development of intensive agriculture through periods of social complexity. On a theoretical level, this study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the agrarian producers in a society and the consumers. This research may also impact contemporary farming practices in the Maya area as well. As more and more land is deforested for agriculture, there is increased erosion and loss of soil fertility, yet the ancient Maya were able to successfully farm their land for millennia without significant degradation of the environment. It may be possible to reintroduce these more sustainable farming practices to the modern world.