The Maya Forest Garden: Eight Millennia of Sustainable Cultivation of the Tropical Woodlands (New Frontiers in Historical Ecology)

The Conventional Wisdom Says That The Devolution Of Classic Maya Civilization Occurred Because Its Population Grew Too Large And Dense To Be Supported By Primitive Neotropical Farming Methods, Resulting In Debilitating Famines And Internecine Struggles. Using Research On Contemporary Maya Farming Techniques And Important New Archaeological Research, Ford And Nigh Refute This Malthusian Explanation Of Events In Ancient Central America And Posit A Radical Alternative Theory. The Authors Show That Ancient Maya Farmers Developed Ingenious, Sustainable Woodland Techniques To Cultivate Numerous Food Plants (including The Staple Maize); Examine Both Contemporary Tropical Farming Techniques And The Archaeological Record (particularly Regarding Climate) To Reach Their Conclusions; Make The Argument That These Ancient Techniques, Still In Use Today, Can Support Significant Populations Over Long Periods Of Time. -- Introduction: Prosperity Across Centuries -- Chapter 1. The Context Of The Maya Forest -- Chapter 2. Dwelling In The Maya Forest : The High-performance Milpa -- Chapter 3. Environmental Change And The Historical Ecology Of The Maya Forest -- Chapter 4. Maya Land Use, The Milpa, And Population In The Late Classic Period -- Chapter 5. The Forested Landscape Of The Maya -- Chapter 6. Maya Restoration Agriculture As Conservation For The Twenty-first Century -- Appendix A. Basket Of Mesoamerican Cultivated Plants -- Appendix B. Favored Trees. Anabel Ford And Ronald Nigh. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The conventional wisdom says that the devolution of Classic Maya civilization occurred because its population grew too large and dense to be supported by primitive neotropical farming methods, resulting in debilitating famines and internecine struggles. Using research on contemporary Maya farming techniques and important new archaeological research, Ford and Nigh refute this Malthusian explanation of events in ancient Central America and posit a radical alternative theory. The authors show that ancient Maya farmers developed ingenious, sustainable woodland techniques to cultivate numerous food plants (including the staple maize); examine both contemporary tropical farming techniques and the archaeological record (particularly regarding climate) to reach their conclusions; make the argument that these ancient techniques, still in use today, can support significant populations over long periods of time."-- Provided by publisher Ch. 1. The context of the Maya forest -- ch. 2. Dwelling in the Maya forest -- ch. 3. Environmental change and the historical ecology of the Maya forest -- ch. 4. Maya land use and population in the Late Classic Period -- ch. 5. Forested landscape of the ancient Maya -- ch. 6. Maya restoration agriculture as conservation for the twenty-first century