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Soil constraints on Northwest Yucatán, Mexico: Pedoarchaeology and Maya subsistence at Chunchucmil
Author(s) -
Beach Timothy
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6548(199812)13:8<759::aid-gea1>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , maya , agriculture , geography , archaeology , usda soil taxonomy , agroforestry , population , soil water , ecology , environmental science , soil classification , biology , demography , sociology
The soils and subsistence of ancient Maya Chunchucmil in northwestern Yucatán are the focus of this paper. Today and historically, the population and crop yields here have been very low. Archaeological field work, however, has shown the Late Classic site to be highly populated with densely packed walled mound and field groups. It is enigmatic that this high ancient Maya population existed in a region of meager crop and soil potential. This enigma is addressed by investigating contemporary Maya agriculture, geoarchaeological evidence, and soil potential for intensive agriculture. The local Maya soil classification of kancab and boxluum synthesizes the Alfisols, Inceptisols, and Mollisols described here. The major soil limitations are shallowness, broad areas with no soil, insufficient water holding capacity, and variable deficiencies in phosphorous, potassium, and zinc. Evidence for intensive agriculture and alternative crops can be seen in widespread field walls compartmentalizing the landscape, sascaberas, and preliminary phosphate fractionation signatures. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.