Ancient Mayan Agriculture and Sustenance (The Classical Period: 200 A.D. - 900 A.D.)

Abstract

Mayan civilization began around 1800 B.C. in the southern parts of Mexico; particularly in what we would refer to in the present day as the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and certain parts of Honduras. According to many archeologists the Mayan civilization began to flourish and reach its peak during the Classical Period (200 A.D. – 900 A.D.), this is when the Mayans achieved their greatest accomplishments in Culture, Art, Power and Influence. With such a fast growing civilization sustenance and agriculture became a number one priority. Although The Mayans didn't have the farming implementations and technology that we have today, they were still very intellectually in tune with their environment and managed to develop methods of farming that produced optimal yields from such crops as maize (corn), Manioc, squash, and Beans. This essay begins to expand on typical farming methods in relation to Mexico's topography as well as elaborate on the necessity of other root crops and the staples mentioned above.

During the Classical period the Mayan civilization was booming and their population was growing at an exponential rate. Archaeologists working around the ancient city of Tikal estimated a density of about “300 people per square mile outside the major urban centers, and outlying areas had as many as 15 structures per acre, most of them houses.” Such a dense population demanded agricultural systems that yielded high quantities of nutritious food. Similar to practices still used in the jungle of South America the Mayans used “Slash and burn” methods of farming. This was ideal for tropical and semitropical environments where farmers would cut and burn patches of forest just before the rainy season (May to October). This would provide a fertile planting surface, and reduce the breeding of insects and other pests, while enriching the soil through the decomposition of the forest vegetation. Fields that were cleared of tropical foliage and used for farming generally had a lifespan of 1-2 years. This was largely because soil erosion, weed competition, and lack of nutrients would drive yield rates down forcing farmers to move on to a different location. While crop rotation was used by the Mayans it wasn't enough to restore nutrients to the soil for continuous use, “Left fallow, former fields are recolonized by tropical vegetation, and the soil is gradually rejuvenated”.