Society for American Archaeology

Water and Land at the Ancient Maya Community of La Milpa Author(s): Vernon L. Scarborough, Matthew E. Becher, Jeffrey L. Baker, Garry Harris, Fred Valdez, Jr. Source: Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Jun., 1995), pp. 98-119 Published by: Society for American Archaeology Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/972146 Accessed: 18/10/2010 15:03

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http://www.jstor.org - - WATER AND LAND AT THE ANCIENT MAYA COMMUNITY OF LA MILPA

Vernon L. Scarborough,Matthew E. Becher, JeffreyL. Baker, Garry Harris, and Fred Valdez, Jr.

TheLate Preclassicto Classicperiod (400 B.C.-A.D. 900) Maya communityof La Milpa,, has recentlyrevealed an ancient waterand land-use system. As demonstratedat othersouthern Maya Lowlandsites, the Maya createda microwatershedto storeand conveywater during thefour months of seasonaldrought. In additionto waterconservation measuresassociated with reservoirs,deliberate channelization, diversion weirs, and postulatedfields,the importance of rainy-seasonerosion control is indicated.Given the ancientpopulation densities identified in the Maya area, coupled with the seasonal scarcityof water, we posit a "skill-oriented"economy. La comunidad maya de La Milpa, Belice, del horizontePreclasico al horizonteClasico (400 A.D.-900 D.C.) ha reveladorecientemente un antiguosistema de manejode agua y tierra.Como se ha demostradoen otrossitios mayas de las tierrasbajas meridionales,los mayas crearonuna micro-divisoriade aguas para acumulary distribuiragua durantelos cuatromeses de sequia.Ademas de medidasde conservacionde agua asociadascon estanques,canalizacion, presas de desviaciony campos de cultivo,se analiza la existencia de control de erosion durante la temporadade lluvias. Dadas la densidadespoblacionales antiguas identificadasen el area maya y la escasez estacionalde agua, proponemosla existencia de una economia "orientadaa la destreza."

The southern Lowland Maya of present- answerlies in the longevity ofthe civilization, day upperCentral America represent one and the slow, incremental changes that the of the earliest and most developed semitrop- Maya made in altering the landscape (Scar- ical civilizations in the New World (Figure borough 1993a, 1994a). 1). In addition to towering pyramids, hiero- A key variablefor understandingMaya land glyphic writing, and sophisticated craft spe- use and related forces of production is water cialists, the Maya had sizable population management. In the Maya area, water is the densities. By A.D. 700 the southern Maya independent variable upon which economic Lowlands register some of the largest popu- development depends. Becausesizable drain- lations in the Western Hemisphere before ages did not exist, the utilization of classic modern times (Rice and Culbert 1990). Giv- irrigation technology was impossible. How- en the complexity of , how ever, landscape modifications over many is it that an environment defined by karstic generations designed to improve access to landforms, thin soils, seasonal drought, and waterand extend the period of its availability the disturbingabsence of permanent natural produced an extremely productive environ- water sources accommodated statecraft?An ment.

VernonL. Scarborough* School of AmericanResearch, P.O. Box 2188, Santa Fe, NM 87504 Matthew E. Becher * Departmentof Anthropology,University of Cincinnati,Cincinnati, OH 45221 Jeffrey L. Baker * Departmentof Anthropology,University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 Garry Harris * Wilson Memorial Hospital, Sidney, OH 45365 Fred Valdez, Jr. * Departmentof Anthropology,University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 Latin AmericanAntiquity, 6(2), 1995, pp. 98-119. CopyrightC) 1995 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

98 [ScaSrough et al.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MILPA,BELIZE

99

Figure 1. Map of Maya Low- lands. The sites identified are - ; those with knowvnwater managv ;" ment features. The southern _rz Maya Lowlands are represented g by the shaded zone. Background in the prehispanicpast preparedthe land for In this early complex society, only a limited productionlevels beyond those in currentuse. numberof previously unavailabletechniques In the recent book, The Rice Economies, could significantlyimprove productivity.De- Bray (1986) discusses the relationshipof ag- velopments in stone-tool technologies, for riculturaleconomies based on "mechanical" example, did not evolve significantlyfollow- technologiesdrawing from a Europeanmodel ing the early domestication process, and few in which labor productivity is increased by cropping methods were probably added to the substitution of animals and later ma- the inventory of techniques available to chines for humans. When human labor is farmersafter the Middle Formative (Angulo scarce or more attractive nonfarm-related 1993). Three modifications could have been employment abundant,advances in technol- made to the land to significantlyenhance pro- ogy are made to increase the productivity of duction: (1) additional water and/or its di- the labor force. Economies of scale evolve version, (2) fertilizer, and (3) pest and weed from this strategy. However, when land is control. Although a crude understandingof scarceand laborabundant, Bray suggests that pest control may have been practicedby way productivityis definedby enhancingthe land of intercropping (Gliessman 1984; Gliess- base and intensifying the exploitation of re- man et al. 1981), and composting was surely sources at a much reduced scale. The mode practicedat the kitchen gardenlevel, sophis- of productionemphasizes the household and ticated chemical additives have little influ- immediate community and their association enced this portion of the Maya area until re- with the small, yet intensively cropped, plot. cently. However, the management of water Seen as an Asian model, it is characterized 1oo LATINAMERICAN ANTIQUITY yol. 6, No. 2, 1995 as "skill-oriented" and dependent on so- separation important? Drennan (1988) has phisticated agriculturalknowledge at the lo- suggested that it permitted a type of inten- cal level. Decisions about the land are made sification unlike that reported in highland at the household or village level, and the in- , an intensity associated with focused tensity of the tasks performednecessitates the concern over land. Given the densities in- exchangeof skilledagricultural labor between dicated, land would appear to have been at households. Although Bray's dichotomy be- a premium in the Lowlands. Nevertheless, tween "mechanical" vs. "skill-oriented" accretional land development by way of a economies emphasizes the unique require- skill-orientedeconomy alteredthe landscape, ments of wet-rice as opposed to wheat, bar- and slowly raised the carryingcapacity that, ley, oats, and rye of an early Middle East and throughtime, accommodateda growingpop- subsequentEuropean agricultural adaptation ulation. (Harlan 1992), it illuminates the economic We do not know the precise land-use bal- organizationof the swamp-dwellinglowland ance on which the Maya were subsisting,but Maya. our recent identification of water manage- For years the Maya have been examined ment practices at the swamp margins of the as a civilization accordingto a model drawn southern Maya Lowlands suggeststhat care- from the earliest states elsewherein highland ful timing and attention were demanded for Mexico or even the first Old World centers watering fields and providing for domestic along the semiarid reaches of principal wa- needs (Scarborough 1993a; Scarborough, terways. But the environmental backdropof Connolly, and Ross 1993,1994; Scarborough the Maya Lowlandsis wet-dry forestand sea- and Gallopin 1991). The site areaof La Milpa sonally inundatedswamp balanced on a lime- within the Programme for Belize landhold- stone foundation, an environment like few ings of northwesternBelize provides a case others in the New World. To deny this fact, study for the complexity of the ancient water or simply to gloss over its existence, is to system and the interrelationshipbetween wa- obscure severely Maya economic organiza- ter and land management: a skill-oriented tion. Swampsalone comprise over 30 percent economy (Scarboroughet al. 1992). of the southern Maya Lowlands and were a major resource for the origin and develop- Survey and Reconnaissanceat La Milpa ment of Maya civilization (Adams 1980; Water managementhas been reported from Flannery 1982; Harrison and Turner 1978, several sites in the Maya area, principallyas- 1983; Pohl 1985, 1990). sociated with Late Preclassic occupation Another featurethat has been dismissed is (Matheny 1976, 1986; Matheny et al. 1980, that the Maya likely had a huge population. 1983; Scarborough1983, 1991a). Unlike the It was not concentratedor nucleatedat a sin- "concave"microwatershed adaptations ofthe gle city or set of principal cities, but rather Late Preclassic, La Milpa characterizes a population was dispersed across an area of Classic Period "convex" microwatershed approximately 250,000 km2. At A.D. 700, (Scarborough1993a). The buildersof La Mil- more people with sharedcustoms and similar pa positioned the site on a natural hill to languageswere groupedon the Yucatan Pen- utilize best the quarriedsurface for construc- insula than elsewhere in Mesoamerica (cf. tion fill and the resultantreservoir and rain- Justeson 1986:438;Kaufman 1976:111;Ma- water catchment surfaces.The "convex" to- thews 1992:5;Rice and Culbert 1990; Turner pographicrelief accommodated greatercon- 1 990). trol of runoS across this artificial microwa- Numerous settlement studies have shown tershed than is apparent at earlier Late the extent of occupation in the Maya Low- Preclassic communities (e.g., , , lands and the apparentfocus of the Maya on etc.), the latter dependent on natural slope- scattered village life. Why was this spatial margin runoS carried into a low-lying site :: * '-,

Scarborough et al.] WATERAND LANDAT LA MILPA,BELIZE 101

- : 7

-===- LAMIIZA DIIAINAGB M^P

mlXrk 9 5 (_ G_j, Ubt) Eza oe_ m_k 9 , Dl d Drnl_ O Dv_ v 1v} r ek Z_ r E C@_ (r G_jF 1^) * N 1N_ D i sozl* (rl_ Ub oentour J>ntl Z . 5 M4wd S A_bled

VLeS_

M w RAnZU

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Figure 2. La Milpa Drainage Map. center. The site center of La Milpa occupies data spanninga period of five years collected the summit of the highest hillock ( 180 m asl) from Chan Chich Lodge located 40 km to the within a 2 km radius in an incised cone karst south of La Milpa indicate that 87 percent of setting. the annual precipitation falls during the La Milpa illustratesthe sophistication of a months of June through January (Thomas reservoir-basedwater system dating primar- Harding, personal communication 1992). ily to the Late Classic period. Although these Some of the largest structuresat La Milpa data strongly suggest the complexity of an were constructed during the Late Preclassic urban water management scheme, they are period(Guderjan l991;NormanHammond, preliminaryfindings requiring additional field personal communication, 1992). Neverthe- investigations.l La Milpa lies 25 km north- less, the major occupation and building ac- east of , Peten, , a site of tivity at La Milpa remains Late Classic. Dur- comparable size, with a sophisticated reser- ing the 1992 field season, we conducted con- voir managementadaptation (Scarborough et trolled drainage survey across 75 ha at La al. 1993, 1994). As is the case throughout Milpa inclusive of the central plaza zone much of the southern Maya Lowlands, no mapped by Guderjan (1991) (Figure 2). A1- permanentsources of water are known in im- though Tourtellot's (Tourtellot et al. 1993) mediate proximity to La Milpa. The Rio Bra- completed map will eventually permit better vo lies 9 km to the southeast, and the only population estimates, our preliminary as- reported spring/'wellis located 4 km east/ sessment indicates a density of 250 mounds/ northeast.2 Further, droughtlike conditions km2 within the central southwest quadrant prevail for four months of the year. Rainfall of the site (500 x 500 m).3 A density of 410 102 LATIN AIIIIERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 6, No. 2, 1995

DRAINAGE 1

1" 1992 i Direction of Drainte _ Prehistoric Strueture , ' * (after Guderjan, 1991) \ Check-Dam Ternce I \ \ .-- Contour Line 0 (iter Guderjan, V9l)

t contour interval 2 . Ss t V _ _ _ A\' ° SOx

1

Figure 3. Contour Map of Drainage 1 with Check-Dam Terraces.

mound/km2 was recorded in the area to the Drainage I far west and outside the central 1 km2. These densities are comparableto those from other The northeasterndrainage at La Milpa car- Classic-periodMaya sites in the northeastern ries very little runoS from the Main Plaza, Peten (Culbertand Rice 1990), and indicate though it defines its margin(Figure 3). Three a clear absence of community boundary or of the largeststructures at the site (Structures density "drop-oiR'within the immediate site 1, 2, and 3) prevent drainagefrom flowingin perimeter. this direction and the associated Main Plaza appears canted in the opposite way (Gair Drainages and Related Features Tourtellot, personal communication 1992). Four principaldrainages issuing from the el- Drainage 1 is the most incised drainageat evated central precinct at La Milpa were the site, having a slope gradientof nearly 10 mapped. The topographyat the site is severe, percent (Figures 3 and 4). The walls of the being most ruggedto the east. Except for the arroyo are composed of a series of natural northeastern-most drainage (Drainage 1), terracesapproximately 1-3 m wide and geo- each of the three remainingdrainages flowing logically formed in the exposed bedrock. In west (Drainage 2), south (Drainage 3), and the course of the channel, 18 possible check- southwest (Drainage4) is defined by a head- dam terraces were identified and mapped. end reservoir.The latterthree drainagescon- Unlike the side walls of the drainage, these verge, then terminate, in a small bajo-sea- featureswere deliberatewith verticalbedding sonal, internally drained swampland-(less planes and best defined at or immediately than 1 km2) located 2 km west of the Main below the confluence of minor drainages Plaza at La Milpa (Figure 2). Drainage 1 is- feedinginto Drainage1.4 These locationswere sues into a larger bajo (30 km2) lying 3 km generally associated with broader areas of northeast of the same central precinct. level ground than elsewhere in the channel, Scaugh et al.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MIUA, BELIZE 103

190 drainages at La ' Slope Gradients: Milpa. Given the arroyo's vv 186 1 9.73% proximity to the major architectureat the - zz 2 7.35% "vz site, controlling the degradingeffect of 182 313a7.74% wet- RES C " 3b 6.75 % season runoffwas . . an . end in itself.

\:

178 .. v RES A * .,,, y Drainage 2 \_!zs 174 } check dam/terrace 3a Drainage2 was identifiedas a primarydrain- .8 170 <>/3b age at the site based ai on Tourtellot's "X" obser- ., \ vation that most of the runofffrom the o 166 " main - plaza flowed into it (Figures 2 and 4). The 162 * ' gradient was gentle when compared to the other drainages, slightly greater than 7 per- 158 cent within our mapped - '-.. perimeter,but hav- ing a projected 154 tk gradientof less than 6 percent 1Nn SJV over its entire length. 40 80 120 160 200 . . . . -240 . 280 . 320 . 360 400 distance (m) . An examinationof GuderJan's Figure map (1991) 4. Slope Gradientof La Milpa Drainages.Ver- above Drainage 2 shows tical exaggerationis 1:10. that a parapetwall (lessthan a meterhigh) extends from the north end of Structure9 toward the northeast and perhaps suggesting that dry-season agricul- the north side of the ballcourt Structures11 turalplots were maintained. and 12. This somewhat aberrantwall align- The check-dam terraces were constructed mentfunctioned less as a defensive structure to take advantage of natural bedrock out- and more likely as a plaza runoS diversion cropswith small, limestone boulders placed weir.It prevented the prematuremovement on top of the underlying bedrock in many of water from the plaza into Drainage 2 by cases.These featureswere seldom more than directingflow toward the narrow northern twocourses high and ranged between 4 and neckof the Main Plaza. This constrictedarea 15m in length, with a particularlywell-con- wasdefined by the near head-end conver- structedset of check-dam terracesdescending genceof Drainages 1 and 2. The weir was froma feeder channel near the end of the constructedto preventaccelerated erosion and mappedzone (Figure3). Nevertheless, many uncontrolledrunoff into Drainage 2 (Figure ofthe check-dam terraceswere in severe dis- 2). repair,having been "blown out" by years of Approximately 100 m west of the end of cascadingrunoff. No cut stone was identified thediversion feature was a stone dam. Ini- inthe construction, though no formal exca- tiallythe dam was identified as a check dam vationwas carried out in the drainage. (GuderJan1991), but subsequent mapping The function of the check-dam features in andexcavation indicate a more substantial Drainage1 is unclear. They surely trapped function.The surficialappearance of the fea- soiland related debris, and may have pro- turesuggests an extended single course align- videda small agriculturalyield duringthe dry mentof stones, 17.5 m long and abuttingon seasonwhen the volume of water contained bothsides of the constricting bedrock walls inthe channel was reduced.Nevertheless, an ofthe channel'scourse at this location (Figure alternativeexplanation suggests that the check 5).The area above the dam was markedly damsfunctioned primarily to slow the ero- widerthan at the dam location, suggesting siveeffects of the drainage across this most thepresence of an ancient reservoir. precipitousnortheastern portion of the site The ill-definedappearance of ReservoirC5 (cf.Dunning and Beach 1993). Over the first maybe a consequence of post-abandonment 150m of Drainage 1, the slope gradientis 13 downcuttingassociated with uncontrolled percent-almosttwice the incline ofthe other runoffissuing from the unmaintainedcentral Gravel| > > Major Feature

104 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY Rol. 6, No. 2, 195

La Milpa

NorthwesternDam Feature soil Plan V;ew showing core SuboperationsV08 & V09 M. eecher, 1992 8e^19 _ ] O .5 1w

rs b Reservoir C

N

o Figure 5. Plan View 9 of NorthwesternDam t Feature. precinct at La Milpa. A soil core was exca- posed rubble foundation. The width (thick- vated to rubblefall or bedrock,positioned 1 1 ness) of the dam is unknown. m above the dam, and centrallylocated with- The scoured condition of the reservoir is in the present channel course. Rock was en- furtherattested by the dam itself. Excavation counteredless than a meter below the surface. data indicate that 1.5 m diameter stone slabs The constrictedcharacter of the arroyochan- were placed vertically into a wet-laid marl nel at this location would allow the dam con- and rubble fill support matrix (Suboperation struction to climb at least another meter, V08 and VO9)(Figure6). The 1.4 m of vertical though the original height of the dam is dif- construction ballast defining the fill behind ficult to reconstruct.It is possible that a por- the stone slabs representsthe mass necessary tion of the featurewas supportedby a sizable to support the volume contained by Reser- timber superstructureanchored in the ex- voir C. It is likely that the downcut channel

Suboperations V08 & V09 L;,;.::- ( Dam) Rock 8cale .... O .2 .4 .6 .8 lm . . . . Humus/Silt

. . * .

PffiN Ballast-

Palm Roots

Ko°°°°°°°3Consolidated zOoOoOOoooOoOO2CulturalFill aoo°o (Unexcavated)

Roots/Fine

| l l X t|Limestone | x [ x I|Bedrock SuboperationV08 SuboperationV09 M. Becher, 1992 Figure6. Profile of NorthwesternDam Feature(Southeast Wall Exposureof SuboperationV08 and V09). Se.rough et al.l WATERAND LAND AT LA MIUA, BELIZE 105

La Milpa Resersoirs A & B Poza 1 Drainages 3a & 3b

s subsoi 1 | probe

N ,/ direction of water f low

-/ Figure 7. ContourMap of ResersoirsA and B, Drainages3a and 3b, and Poza 1. presently knifing through the dam area has the Maya area in the Cayo District, Belize removed additional boulder courses as sug- (Healy 1983), and at Copan, (Tur- gested by large outcropping stones immedi- ner and Johnson 1979) no cut stone is iden- ately below the feature. tifiable, and the La Milpa alignment is two No sluice gates for the dam were identified, to four times longer, respectively. in part because the featurewas in severe dis- The area below the dam continues at the repair.The dam appearsto be a Late Classic same "washed out" gradient as that above period construction,given the datable debris the feature.A pace and compass surveydown retrieved from the basal reaches of the con- Drainage 2 and below the dam found the struction fill. Unlike other dams reportedin channelto intersectwith the main bajo drain- LATINAMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 6, No. 2, 1995 106

NS960 NS980 N6000 N6020 N6040 N6060 N6080 N61 100 ES92 S ES92 S ES920 E592S ES92S ES92S ES92S ES9 925 North Transect w | X w X w l } 1,4 N S

320

240

160

80

-

- o 177- Ll--ton- C -4rocX

c]

-80 -

Central Transect

W

N6000 NE590200 NE590400 NE590600

Southern Transect E5900 l l La Mllpa 240- ReservoirA w E Schematic Profiles > ,, 1992 160- o O

_ o o

j 17 7 m o- \ > > L ; /

\ Ftottled Gray/ / -80- <=/

-160- White Marl Figure 8. SchematicProfile of ResersoirA retrievedfrom soil coringtransects. Vertical exaggeration is 1:10. age to the farwest (see below), approximately ed most immediately by Structure8 to the 600 m west. Level fieldlike zones were en- .north, segregatingthe reservoir from the re- counteredalong the channel's course outside mainder of the Main Plaza. Nevertheless, a the 1 km2 area defining central La Milpa. sizable quantityof runoSfrom the plaza must have flowed into Reservoir A, probably Drainage 3 around the east end of Structure8 and be- Drainage 3 issues from Reservoir A and bi- tween this structureand the massive Struc- furcates approximately 70 m south of the ture 3. An excavation unit was placed near slight earthenembankment defining the pres- the reservoir's margins and below Structure ent southernmargin of the reservoir(Figures 8 to determine the history of the reservoir 2 and 7). This drainageand reservoirreceived relativeto the main plaza(Suboperation VO 1). the greatestattention of all the drainagesex- Unfortunately, this trench was located too amined because of their location, size, and high on the banks of the reservoirto provide complexity. an unambiguousdepositional history (Figure Reservoir A encloses an area of 4,240 m2 8). Nevertheless, a soil-coringoperation cou- to a maximum depth of over 2 m. It is bound- pled with the discernable stratigraphyfrom Scafborough et al.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MIUA, BELIZE 107

I| Light Grey Gumbo / C 1 ay | Marly Clay 8cale _ _ _ O .2 .4 .6 .8 lm

Cobbles

Figure9. Profile of ResersoirA Berm Channel(North Wall Exposureof SuboperationV02). the above trench indicates that the reservoir the limestone moist, its softened state would was partially lined by a naturally deposited allow greaterease of removal. clay sealant following Late Preclassicquarry The post-abandonment infilling matrices efforts in producing the tank and the stone within ReservoirA rise to a maximum height and earthen fill for the adjacentmonumental of 1.6 m and a cross-sectional width of at architecture.The reservoirwas subsequently least 40 m (Figure8). The actual elevation of used duringthe Late Classic period. The soil- the originaldam was higherjudging from the coring operation further permitted an accu- other contoursin the reservoir.Nevertheless, ratecharacterization ofthe shapeand volume Dunning's (1992) assessment of the core at of the feature revealing a capacity of 3,180 N6000 E5940 immediately east of the dam m3 (Figures 7 and 8). suggeststhe presence of buried plaster floors The principaldrainage outlet for Reservoir overlyingthe same sediment constructionfill A is a slightlyperceptible earthen berm at the identified from the deepest core, N6000 southernhead of Drainage3. Excavationsinto E5920, within the dam itself (Figure 8). If the berm suggestthat a sluice was positioned these are floors, they may representlandings at this location, a lazy U-shaped channel 2.5 from which access to the sluices controlling m wide by .7 m deep cut into the deliberately the release of water were made. Given their depositedunderlying clay (SuboperationV02) depressedlocation relativeto the greaterbody (Figure 9). Considerable sedimentation and of Reservoir A, however, these paved sur- bioturbationaffected the matrices.Given the faces may be the preservedremnants of basal limestone quarryingnecessary for the erec- sluice channels themselves, issuing from the tion of monumental architecturein the cen- tank into Drainage 3. tral precinct at La Milpa, it remains curious Located 20 m south of the dam is a well- that earthen fill was used for the dam. It is defined segment of the original drainage likely that the accumulatedsediments in the channel (SuboperationV03) (Figure 10). A1- reservoirarea were initially scrapedaway and though visible on the surface,subsequent ex- relocated to the dammed area, in part to ex- cavation indicates that the 1.6 m wide by .9 pose the underlyinglimestone for quarrying. m deep channel was lined by eroded buttress This scenario suggeststhe importanceplaced stones. on establishing a water source for the con- Approximately 70 m south/southwest of structionsite, while at the same time allowing the earthen berm, the drainage splits-one the removal of limestone. Too, by keeping branch to the southwest (Drainage 3a) and ',;:'.,@ i:!'.:":' Stone ...... ; -

LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 108 [Vol. 6, No. 2, 1995

Definltion k < < Grey Clay

> g q Humus n:0 0 n Marl and l: : ;: lGumbo Cobble pR,it,°O/ Fill (unexcavated)

___ P U j Grey Clay | X L and Cobbles X s |Llmestone

NortilWall Profile

8cale O .2 .4 .6 .8 lm

Figure10. Plan and Profile of Drainage3 M. (North Wall Exposureof SuboperationV03). Becher, 1992 the other to the south (Drainage 3b). A nat- ural outcroppingbedrock. One of these features ridge supportinga sizable housemound was group excavated. separatesthe two branches.No clearly At a defined location 370 m southwestofthe earth- switchingstation or relateddiversion enberm, featurewas the gradientof Drainage3a leveled. identified at this juncture, but Thisarea was giventhe scoured recentlyused as a milpa locality appearance of the upper andwas likely a field drainage,it is unlikely zone during the Maya that such a feature occupationof the site. wouldsurvive following a The field area extends millennium of over7 ha with 14 small abandonment.The gradients of housemounds dis- the two persedwithin it. A low-lying drainageswere similar, although chultun-a con- Drainage3a strictedorifice, subterranean wassteeper (7.74 percent) than chamber-was Drainage 3b mappedand excavated (6.75percent) (see Figure 4). (SuboperationV10) (Figures1 1 and 12) within the extended mar- Twocrude, small check-damterraces, each less ginsof Drainage 3a approximately 460 than S m long, were identified along the m fromthe earthenberm of ReservoirA. courseof Drainage 3a. Both check dams It was were positionedimmediately below a indisrepair and constructedby placinga ridge-top sin- plazuelagroup possibly associated glecourse of small boulder-sizestones on with its the ownimmediate courtyardchultun. Scarborough et al.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MILPA,BELIZE 109

Contour Interval 2 ocm Scale O .5 lm

Subsurface Prof ile of Chultun __---_

_

Limit of surf ace atripping

m Center of Chultun

Figure 11. Plan of Cistern Chultun(Suboperation V10).

The excavated chultun was a bell-shaped wet season, while not taxing the water supply featurewith no sill or relatedpartition, dating of the reservoirsystem duringthe dry season. to the Late Classic period. It was 2.0 m high, Drainage 3b extends for 270 m from its 5.0 m in diameter, with a capacity of 25 m3. separationfrom Drainage 3a until it debou- The circular vertical entry shaft (45 cm in ches onto the above-mentioned field area. diameter)was partiallydefined and protected Associated with this drainage,but in the field from uncontrolled surface drainage by a zone, is a diminutive channel orientednorth- quarried projection of bedrock and supple- west/southeast(see La Milpa Aguada).It was mental rubble. Although the interiorwalls of initially interpretedas the remains of a log- the cavity revealed no water-impermeable ging road, but excavations (Suboperation plaster,the featureresembled the chultuncis- V04) (Figure 13) at the foot of a housemound terns of northern Yucatan (McAnany 1990) flanking the channel and the channel itself more than the food storage pits usually as- suggestthat the ditch dates to the LateClassic sociated with the southern Maya Lowlands period.A possible stone diversionfeature was (Dahlin and Litzinger 1986; Puleston 1971; also examined. Dunning's ( 1992) prelimi- Reina and Hill 1980; Scarboroughet al. 1994) nary evaluation of auger samples taken from based on the feature's location, shape and the field area reveals elevated phosphatelev- capacity.6It appearsto have been recharged els indicative of ancient agriculturalactivity. by way of the drainage it flanks during the The field flatzone was drainedby the chan- | ,''4'2 Rock

110 LATINAMERICAN ANTIQUITY Rol. 6, No. 2, 1995

|< Humus Z ge X| Guano/ Mar l

W gGl Prepared Is | | l | Limestone ,° Entrance | | X l | Bedrock Central Axis (Western) Profile

Bat Guano

Figure 12. Profile of CisternChultun (Suboperation V10).

1 !'\' i --- | CheCk Dam |' * Clay and Gravel

§ 0: - 0; ;. Humus I| Ster] le | Marl | 0 :; ;-| Gumbo

° - oocl House Mound ;?b°1 Fill

Plall View M. Becher, 1992 Figure 13. Plan and Profile of Diminutive Ditch within the Field Flat Area (Suboperation V04). Scarough et al.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MILPA,BELIZE lll

N5880 N5880 N5880 E6030 E60so E6070 N5880 E6090 w I 1 1x'

480

Slrllelllle 21

400

320

-

t> - 240 J aX

160-

80-

1'Z0^ 0-

-8U -

Livestone Bedrock

Figure14. SchematicProfile of ResersoirB retrievedfrom Soil CoringTransects. The sertical exaggerationis 1:5. nels identified. If reservoir stores were re- deep tank. Reservoir B was systematically leased expeditiously during the dry season, grid surveyed and cored, revealing a surface additional agriculturalyields were likely. The areaof 2,165 m2 and a depth of 5.2 m (Figure bifurcatedcharacter of the drainagesuggests 14).8 The approximatevolume of the reser- that Drainage 3a, drainingmost directly into voir was 5,975 m3, with a diminutive catch- the Far West Drainage (see below), was used ment area immediately north of the tank and to channel rainy-seasonoverflow away from possibly to the east off of Plaza B as defined the field flat zone. Drainage 3b permittedthe by Structures 2S24 (see Guderjan 1991: controlled watering of the field zone from map). Reservoir A duringthe dry season. The pres- The precise manner by which water was ence of check dams along Drainage 3a, if released from Reservoir B to Drainage 4 is functioningas erosional control features(see not known (Figure 4). In fact, it is possible Drainage 1), and the absenceofthese features that ReservoirB did not functionas a holding along the slightly more gentle gradient of tank for subsequentrelease of water into the Drainage 3b, may indicate that a greaterun- drainagearea. Time did not permit a more controlled volume of water flowed down refined examination of the flat to the west Drainage 3a than Drainage 3b. and south of the reservoir.9Nevertheless, we conjecture that water was retained in Res- Drainage 4 ervoir B for dry season releaseinto Drainages Drainage 4 is the least well documented of 4a and 4b, a reconstruction modeled after the principaldrainages identified at La Milpa. Reservoir A and Drainages 3a and 3b. It is actually two drainages, Drainage 4a to the west and Drainage 4b to the east, sepa- La Milpa Aguada rated by CourtyardStructures 69-75 and the The large aguada-a natural clay- and silt- ridge on which these featuresare placed (Fig- laden sink-immediately south and south- ure 2).7 The head end ofthe bifurcateddrain- west of the central 1 km2 defining La Milpa age is defined by Reservoir B, a relatively is the only aguadaidentified duringthe 1992 112 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIOUITY Rol. 6, No. 2, 1995

subsoi 1 * probe contour interval 50 cm

Sczl- 0 10 20 30 40m

Figure 15. Map of La Milpa Aguada. field season (Figure 2). Reports of another a kaolin clay lining, although the latter now aguada to the west of the site center were not appears to have a natural origin (Nicholas confirmed. La Milpa Aguada was radially Dunning, personal communication 1992). mapped and cored at 25 m intervals, reveal- The cores associatedwith La Milpa Aguada ing an ancient paleosol at a maximum depth provide a cross-sectional history of the de- of 1.6 m below the present infilled surface pression and surroundingfield flat zone (Fig- and a surfacearea of 1 1,335 m2 (Figure 15). ures 15 and 16). Dunning's analysis of the Investigations were possible because the de- centralcore, N5404 E5663, indicatesthat the pression was nearly dry in early April. The matrices below 130 cm are representativeof basin is partiallyrecharged by way of Drain- an ancient paleosol affectedby seasonal arid- ages 3 and 4. ity as evidenced by soil cracking.Neverthe- Although no formal excavation was con- less, the water-retainingcharacter of the de- ducted in the aguada, the tank was probably pression probably made it an attraction for slightly modified to improve water retention. pioneer populations, if even for half the year. The southwestern margin of the aguada ap- The infilling gray clays overlying the natural pearsdeliberately raised and the core samples paleosol suggestMaya activity at the edge of retrievedfrom the bottom of the basin reveal the aguada. - Blcksc-o X sn *ottiC;/ rI

Scasborough et a1.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MILPA,BELIZE 113

N54; i29 "5454 1j54 79 "5 ZO N5329 Nrtl E56{ F.566 } E - w w w ------i61 £566] l'ruawsecl u m e e J E E e e w I , I I 1 1l - l "5404 S 160- ./ N E5663

o

44- - G 5_o

/f - t - - -

M5404 East Transect t55 "5404 N5404 tIS404 l lE563@ l E5613 E568 1:51]g W I __ _ _ I s4e-

160

G

Figure 16. SchematicProfile of La Milpa Aguadaretrieved from soil coringtransects. The verticalexaggeration is 1:10. Pollen analysis of the same central core at have acted as a natural silting tank embank- approximately the same depth reveals a ment given that Drainages 3 and 4 lie im- marked frequency of woody charcoal and a mediately to the north and probably partially similarly striking absence of fungi, both in- debouched into the aguada. Although this lat- dicative of vegetationalclearance around the ter depression is nearly 50 m wide along this aguada's margins (Travspore 1993). The coring transect, we have little control over its burningof ancient adjacentfields in this con- east-west dimensions. The north-south long text implies the presence of intensive swid- axis of the aguada is 175 m. den agriculturalpractices, routinely watered The East Transect reveals the same sedi- by Drainage 3. The high frequenciesof Con- ment history (Figure 16), though the cross- centricystes cysts, a green-algal fossil abun- section perpendicular to the North Transect dant in "oxbow lakes and other nearby river indicates a maximum surface width of 70 m. ponds that are regularlyflushed" (Travspore The banks of the feature climb considerably 1993), also representedin the same samples higher, but the maximum surface-capacity as the charcoal, suggest that the fields were width of the aguada is conditioned by the "regularlyflushed" by controlled channeli- lower elevations associated with the south zation. end depicted in the North Transect. The North Transect core sample through Surface drainage into the aguada is prin- the center of the aguada indicates a natural cipally from the northeast margin of the ba- undulation in the basal profile (Figure 16). sin. Nevertheless, shallow subterranean aqui- The rise in the profile at N5429 E5663 may fer movement may influence the recharge rate [Vol.6, No. 2, 1995 LATINAMERICAN ANTIQUITY 114

Althoughthe course of the water flow from oftheaguada from runoffvolumecarried into Drainages3 and 4 appears to converge im- thefield flat zone and allowed to percolate mediatelywest of the field flat zone, the Far intothese neighboring soils. The northern WestDrainage again splits around a saddle- Drainages3 and 4 are most responsible for topridge oriented to the northwest.The ridge saturatingthe field flat zone. The filteringac- isdensely covered with sizablestructures. The tionof the soil and porous limestone may gradientaround the outcropis slight, perhaps havelessened the quantity of impurities that indicatingthe presenceof additional agricul- mightcontaminate the water source after plots within the broad course of the wettingthe field flat zone. No well-defined tural drainage.Beyond the ridge, and the conver- outletfor the aguada was discovered. genceonce again of the West Drainage, the gradientsteepens and the channel course be- appearsto TheFar West Drainage comesincised. Settlement density dropoff as the increasinglyincised channel Lyingbelow and northwest of La Milpa flowstoward the bajo located 700 m west of Aguada,the Far West Drainagewas mapped themargins of the map, although this obser- tobetter discern the relationshipbetween the vationmay be a consequence of limited sur- primarydrainages flowing to the south and veybeyond the margins of the drainage. westat La Milpa (Drainages2, 3, and 4) and Drainage2 entered the Far West Drainage thesmall bajo terminus approximately2 km 150m northwest and below the saddle-top fromthe Main Plaza as defined by the drain- ridgefrom the east. It is at this confluence agecourse (Figure2). Because the greaterLa thatthe channel becomes most incised, cut- Milpacatchment represents the principal ting2 m deep across a 10-m-wide course in sourceand watershedfor the bajo, water lev- somelocations. There is reason to believe elsin the bajo are hypothesizedto have been thatthe erosion of the channelat this location partiallycontrolled. The Far West Drainage hasaccelerated since the abandonmentof the wasthe linkage between the controlled res- sitearea. Given a controlledrelease of water ervoirand channel release system at the site duringthe dry season and a well-checkedand coreand apex and the hypothesized fields in diverteddrainage system during the rainy thelow-lying bajo. season, considerably less scouring of the The increased density and complexity of channel'scourse originally occurred.A pos- thestructures recorded in the Far West Zone sible "hanging"canal/channel segment was (410 mounds/km2),as comparedto the den- noted in the incised walls of the Far West sity of structuresassociated with the ridges Drainagebelow our survey lines suggesting and flat areas in proximity to Drainages 3 post-abandonmentdowncutting. It was not and4, may suggestthe significanceplaced by Maya in the former zone on the water excavated. the In addition to the housemounds and the resource. Although we have little informa- drainagecourse itself, the survey located a tion about the settlement density outside the small area of possible contour terracing;nar- primary drainage network at La Milpa, the row, single-coursealignments located on the from other sites in the southernMaya figures northeastmargins of the saddle defining the Lowlands indicate densities of one-half to saddle-topridge. If aboriginal,they may have one-third that represented in the Far West been constructed for erosional control, al- (Culbert and Rice 1990). The recent Zone other landscapingfunctions are clear- sample carried out at the nearby and though survey ly possible. In the area west of the aguada environmentallycomparable Terminal Clas- and south of the southeastknoll, anothersin- sic site of Kinal, Peten (25 km to the south- gle-coursealignment was mapped within the west), recordscore site densities of 128 struc- present channel course. Consisting of five tures/km2(Scarborough et al. 1994), further small, verticallybedded, boulder-sizestones, accentingthe density of occupationin the Far the alignment ran into and slightly askew of West Zone at La Milpa. SsaUgh et a1.] WATERAND LAND AT LA IIILPA,BELIZE 115 parallel with the channel. Although the fea- structionperiods. The Late Preclassicperiod ture was not excavated, it has the classic ap- probablyrepresents the initial and explosive pearanceof a diversion weir, suggestingthat investment in monumental architectureand some of the level ground associated with the watershed manipulation. However, most of Far West Drainage was agricultural. the water-related features identified are a Four of the six chultuns identified by the modification of these earlier Formative water survey appear in the Far West Zone achievementsby LateClassic builders. Given associated with elevated housemounds. Un- the difficultiesin dating water systems, it re- like the excavated chultun in Drainage 3a, mains unclear precisely how much energy these features were located above the drain- Late Preclassic architects invested in the age channel and in immediate proximity to landscapeat La Milpa. a house structure.Our recent excavation of Although the results of the water survey a chultun positioned in a similar location at are preliminary, they strongly suggest the the nearby site of Kinal (Scarboroughet al. complexity of the water system at La Milpa. 1994) and the function of similarly placed As demonstrated at other Maya sites, the chultuns at other southern Maya Lowland Maya created a microwatershedat La Milpa sites suggest that these specific featureswere to accommodate the four months of seasonal not used in water storage. drought(Scarborough 1 993a). In addition to Outside the mappedarea, at the immediate the water conservation measures associated margins of the small bajo, is a damlike plug with reservoirs, deliberate channelization, at the terminus of the Far West Drainage. diversion weirs, and the fields themselves, The feature is approximately 1 m high and the importance of rainy-seasonerosion con- 10 m wide, filling the U-shaped drainage trol is indicated at La Milpa. course at this location. The feature was not Our best evidence for a water management excavated, although it appears to be con- system revealed in microcosm comes from structed of unconsolidated cobble-size an- the channel segments Drainage 3a and 3b. gularlimestone. Becauseof a present-daylog- Reservoir A would be filled to capacity from ging operation identified nearby, its origin the Main Plaza area enclosed by the 185 m remains suspect. contour line (80,000 m2) following only one A very brief reconnaissanceinto the bajo substantial downpour.l° If less than one- did not allow the identificationof agricultural quarterof the monumental architectureand fields. Given the amount of debris carriedby paved surfaces in this area shed water into the uncontrolled post-abandonment drain- the reservoir, coupled with the catchment ages at La Milpa and the postulated down- surface area of the reservoir itself, it would cutting associated with the lower end of the require 13 cm of rainfall to rechargethe de- Far West Drainage,considerable infilling has pression completely. Given very low evap- occurred.It is possible that ancient fields lie oration rates and negligible seepage rates as- buried by the volume of matrix carriedinto sociated with paved or exposed bedrocksur- this basin. It should be noted that the damlike faces, over 3,000 m3 of water could be re- plug at the terminusof the Far West Drainage leased during the dry season to the suggests that recent sedimentation into the hypothesized fields below. Togetherwith di- bajo would have to crest this feature before minutive and expedientditching, cropping in enteringthe depression.Although this expla- the field zone above La Milpa Aguada was nation remains plausible, it may prove that likely.l l Non-agriculturalwater requirements the damlike structurehas a recent origin. may have been satisfied by chultun cisterns of the type discussed above and recharged during the rainy season. Summaryof La Milpa Hydraulic Activity The word "irrigation"is seldom incorpo- La Milpa's water system is a composite of rated in a discussion of the Maya Lowlands. two significant, temporally separated con- Nevertheless, the finds from La Milpa permit LATIN AMERICAN 116 ANTIQUITY [Vol. 6, No. 2, 1995

the term a place in the economic and eco- many large Classic period communities, La logical literaturetreating the Maya. The di- Milpa reveals a well-defined Late Preclassic chotomy between intensive raised-field ag- construction and occupation investment. riculture and extensive swidden does not ac- Unfortunately,excavations have not yet iso- commodate the type of land use presented lated the precise extent of Late Preclassicoc- here. Maya centers were many things. One cupation. Nevertheless, pioneer populations neglected function was their gravity-fed,wa- were probably drawn initially to La Milpa ter management systems and the immediate Aguada, as an upland water source, during agriculturalends to which they were put. an extended portion of the year. Late Pre- The preparationof the paved central pre- classic landscapeengineering significantly al- cinct surfaces,in part designedto collect pre- tered the surfaces at La Milpa. By the Late cipitation, requiredcareful planning and co- Classic period the water system had evolved ordinated effiort.The emphasis at La Milpa into a highly efficient and well-organized and some other Late Classic sites was on component of the overall community. landscape gradient relationships rather than The sophistication of the water manage- horizontalgrid or radialmodels oftown plan- ment investment at La Milpa suggests the ning (cf. Kostof 1991). The perceived "ran- skill-oriented economic adaptation of the domness" sometimes associated with Maya Maya within the southern lowlands. The de- settlement patternsmay be a consequence of sign, construction, and maintenance of the a Western bias toward urban planning and system required focused scheduling and a an inability to appreciate the verticality as- flexibility inherent in a water system depen- sociated with settlement and water manage- dent on the vagariesof seasonal rainfall.This ment (Scarborough1 993b). adaptability,in part, promoted the construc- The natural topography strongly influ- tion of larger pavement surfaces and catch- enced the location of reservoirs and the mentareas for the collection of waterthrough drainagesselected for modification. A prin- time. The tempo, intensity, and organization cipal factor in the choice and planning of a of this activity are diffierentthan among com- Mayatown or city within the southernMaya plex societies deriving their water require- Lowlands was the feasibility of channeling mentsfrom readilyaccessible rivers, streams, runoWfrom elevated pavements into reser- ormajor springs (Scarborough 1993c, 1994b). voirs,modified drainages, and ultimatelyonto level field and household Acknowledgments. We are gratefulfor the opportunity plots. Water re- to have worked in Belize. sourcesthat could Special thanks are extended maintaina largesite center to John Morris and his staff at the Departmentof Ar- wereas important as trade networksand po- chaeology,Ministry of Tourism and the Environment, liticalalliances in the geographicalposition- for making available our archaeologicalpermit to ex- ingof a community. aminethe water system at La Milpa. The Programme for Belize staff, under the direction of A. Joy Grant, Conclusion complementedand encouragedour water studies. John Massonprovided logistical aid on several occasions. Thesouthern lowland Maya representone of RichardE. W. Adams, Nicholas Dunning, Norman theearliest semitropical civilizations on earth. Hammond,and Gair Tourtellotextended field support. David Giventhe lack of permanentsources of water, Rue expeditedthe pollen studies,and JamesAsh- theMaya byconfirmed our identificationof check-damterracing. labored to modify their landscape J.D. Hensz mappedthe Far to West Drainagearea. Fund- best enhance the needs of the population. ingfor the project was primarily from National Geo- Elsewhere,this developmentis arguedto have graphicSociety, with supplemental support from the beenan accretional change, incremental al- Universityof Cincinnatiand a Taft FacultyFellowship terationsto the surface of the land toV. Scarborough., CharlesA. Ho- (Scarbor- fling,Michael ough1 993a, 1993c, 1994a). Smyth, and two anonymous reviewers provideduseful comments on an earlydraft ofthe manu- La Milpa representsone such site. As with script. Scarborough et al.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MILPA,BELIZE 117

References Cited Harrison,P. D., and B. L. TurnerII (editors) 1978 PrehispanicMaya Agriculture.University of Adams, R. E. W. New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 1980 Swamps, Canals, and the Location of Ancient 1983 PulltrouserSwamp:AncientMaya Habitat, Ag- Maya Cities. Antiquity 54:206-214. riculture,and Settlement in NorthernBelize. Uni- Angulo V., Jorge versity of Texas Press, Austin. 1993 Water Control and Communal Labor During Healy, P. F. the Formative and Classic Periods in Central Mex- 1983 An Ancient Maya Dam in the Cayo District, ico. In Economic Aspects of Water Management in Belize. Journal of Field Archaeology10:147-54. the Prehispanic New World, edited by V. L. Scar- Justeson, J. S. borough and B. Isaac. Research in Economic An- 1986 The Originsof WritingSystems: Preclassic Me- thropology, Supplement 7. Greenwich, Connecticut. soamerica. WorldArchaeology 1 7:437-458. Bray, F. Kaufman,T. 1981 The Rice Economies: Technology and Devel- 1976 Archaeologicaland LinguisticCorrelations in opment in Asian Societies. Basil Blackwell, Oxford. Mayalandand AssociatedAreas of Meso-America. Culbert, T. P., and D. S. Rice (editors) WorldArchaeology 8:101-118. 1 sso Precolumbian Population History in the Maya Kostof, S. Lowlands. University of New Mexico Press, Albu- 1991 The CityShaped: Urban Patterns and Meaning querque. ThroughHistory. Little, Brown, Boston. Dahlin, B. H., and W. J. Litzinger Matheny,R. T. 1986 Old Bottles, New Wine: The Function of Chul- 1976 MayaLowland Hydraulic Systems. Science 193: tuns in the Maya Lowlands. American Antiquity 51: 639-646. 721-736. 1986 Investigations at E1 Mirador, Peten, Guate- Drennan, R. D. mala. National GeographicResearch and Explora- 1988 Household Location and Compact Versus Dis- tion 2:332-353. persed Settlement in Prehispanic Mesoamerica. In Matheny,R. T., R. D. Hanson, and D. L. Gurr Household and Community in the Mesoamerican 1980 ,Peten, Guatemala:An InterimRe- Past, edited by R. R. Wilk and W. Ashmore, pp. port. Papers No. 45. New World Archaeological 273-293. University of New Mexico Press, Albu- Foundation,Provo, Utah. querque. Matheny, R. T., D. L. Gurr, D. W. Forsyth,and F. R. Dunning, N. P. Hauck 1992 Notes on the Environment and Ancient Agri- 1983 Investigationsat Edzna, Campeche,Mexico, cultural Features at La Milpa and Surrounding Ar- Vol. I Part 1: The HydraulicSystem. Papers No. eas, Belize. In Water Management Studies at La 46. New WorldArchaeological Foundation, Provo, Milpa, Belize, by V. L. Scarborough, M. E. Becher, Utah. J. L. Baker, G. Hams, and J. D. Hensz, pp.81-102. Mathews,P. Report submitted to National Geographic Society, 1992 MayaHieroglyph WeekendWorkbook. Cleve- Grant No. 4595-91. Washington, D.C. land State University, Cleveland. Dunning, N. P., and T. Beach McAnany,P. A. 1993 Soil Erosion, Slope Management, and Ancient 1990 WaterStorage in the PuucRegion ofthe North- Terracing in the Maya Lowlands. Latin American ern MayaLowlands: A Key to PopulationEstimates Antiquity 5:5149. and ArchitecturalVariability. In PrecolumbianPop- Flannery, K. V. (editor) ulationHistory in the Maya Lowlands,edited by T. 1982 Maya Subsistence: Studies in Memory of Den- P. Culbertand D. S. Rice, pp. 263-284. University nis E. Puleston. Academic Press, New York. of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. Gliessman, S. R. Pohl, M. D. (editor) 1984 An Agroecological Approach to Sustainable 1985 PrehistoricLowland Maya Environmentand Agriculture. In Meeting the Expectations of the Land: SubsistenceEconomy. Papers of the Peabody Mu- Essays in Sustainable Agriculture and Stewardship, seum of Archaeologyand Ethnology,Vol. 77. Har- edited by W. Jackson, W. Berry, and B. Colman, vard University, Cambridge. pp. 16>171. North Point Press, San Francisco. 1990 Ancient Maya WetlandAgriculture: Excava- Gliessman, S. R., E. R. Garcia, and A. M. Amador tions on Albion Island, NorthernBelize. Westview 1981 The Ecological Basis for the Application of Press, Boulder,Colorado. Traditional Agricultural Technology in the Man- Puleston, D. E. agement of Tropical Agro-Ecosystems. Agro-Eco- 1971 An ExperimentalApproach to the Functionof systems 7:173-185. ClassicMaya Chultuns. AmericanAntiquity 36:322- Guderjan, T. H. (editor) 335. 1991 Maya Settlement in Northwestern Belize: The Reina, R. E., and R. M. Hill II 1988 and 1990 Seasons of the Rio Bravo Archaeo- 1980 Lowland Maya Subsistence:Notes from Eth- logical Project. Labyrinthos, Culver City, Califor- nohistoryand Ethnography.American Antiquity 45: nia. 74-79. Harlan, J. R. Rice, D. S., and T. P. Culbert 1992 Crops and Man. 2nd ed. American Society of 1990 Historical Contexts for Population Recon- Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin. structionin the Maya Lowlands.In Precolumbian 118 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 6, No. 2, 1995

Population History in the Maya Lowlands, edited Tourtellot,G. III, A. Clarke,and N. Hammond by T. P. Culbertand D. S. Rice, pp. l-36. University 1993 Mapping La Milpa: of New A in North- Mexico Press, Albuquerque. westernBelize. Antiquity 67:98-108. Scarborough,V. L. Travspore,Inc. 1983 A PreclassicWater System. AmericanAntiq- 1993 Reporton PalynologicalAnalysis of CoreSam- uity 48(4):72S744. ples from La Milpa. 1991a A Manuscripton file, Department rchaeologyat Cerros,Belize, CentralA mer- of Anthropology,University of Cincinnati. ica, Vol. III: The SettlementSystem in a Late Pre- Turner,B. L. II classicMaya Community.Southern Methodist Uni- 1990 PopulationReconstruction versity Press, forthe CentralMaya Dallas. Lowlands:1000 B.C. to A.D.1500. In l991b Water Management Precolumbian Adaptations in Nonin- Population History in the Maya Lowlands, edited dustrialComplex Societies:An ArchaeologicalPer- by T. P. Culbertand D. S. Rice, spective.In pp. 301-324. Uni- ArchaeologicalMethod and Theory,vol. versity of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 3, edited by M. B. Schiffer,pp. 101-154. University Turner,B. L. II, and W. C. Johnson of Arizona, Tucson. 1979 A Maya Dam in the Copan Valley, Honduras. 1993a Water Management in the Southern Maya American Antiquity 44:299-309. Lowlands:An Accretive Model for the Engineered Wilken, G. C. Landscape. In Economic Aspects of Water Man- 1987 Good Farmers. University of CaliforniaPress, agement in the PrehispanicNew World,edited by Berkeley. V. L. Scarboroughand B. Isaac,pp. l 7-69. Research Wright,A. C. S., D. H. Romney, R. H. Arbuckle,and in Economic Anthropology,Supplement 7. Green- V. E. Vail wich, Connecticut. 1959 Land in British Honduras: Report of 1993b Topography the British and Models of Ancient Urban Honduras Land Use Survey Team. Her Majesty's Settlement. Paper presented at the Fifth Interna- StationeryOffice, London. tional and InterdisciplinaryForum on Built Form and CulturalResearch, Cincinnati. 1993c Introduction.In Economic Aspectsof Water Notes Managementin the PrehispanicNew World,edited by V. L. Scarboroughand B. Isaac, pp. 1-14. Re- ' A recentunpublished critique ofthe watermanagement search in Economic Anthropology,Supplement 7. systemat La Milpa(Tourtellot 1993; Tourtellot and Rose Greenwich, Connecticut. 1993) circulatedfollowing the completion of our 1994a Maya Water report Management. National Geo- to NationalGeographic Society (Scarborough et graphicResearch and Exploration 10: al. l 992) 186199. and the revised version of this 1994b Water Managementas a Function of article.We recognizethe Loca- preliminarynature tionaland AppropriationalMovements and the of our evidence, but remain con- Case vinced of the Classic Maya of . In From Political of the artificialcharacter of the water manage- Economyto Anthropology: Situating Economic Life ment investment. in Past Societies, edited by C. A. M. Duncan and 2 Our field camp was located 100 m from the ancient D. W. Tandy, pp. 105-121. Black Rose Books, wellsupplying the drinking,cooking, and bathingneeds Montreal. ofapproximately Scarborough, 100 personsinclusive of the personnel V. L., M. E. Becher,J. L. Baker,G. Harris, atthe Rio and J. D. Hensz BravoResearch Station. Christened Poza Maya, it was first reportedby 1992 Water ManagementStudies at La Milpa, Be- Guderjan(1991:76) and is as- lize. Report submittedto National GeographicSo- sociatedwith a small housemound group. The stone- ciety, Grant No. 4595-91. Washington,D.C. linedshaft of the well descends 4.2 m and is 2.5 m in Scarborough,V. L., R. P. Connolly, and S. P. Ross diameter.It was excavated immediatelyabove a small 1993 The Pre-HispanicMaya Reservoir System at pondingspring, presumablyto prevent contamination Kinal, Peten, Guatemala.Ancient Mesoamerica5: of the source. The open surface of the ponding spring 97-106. receivesrunoff debris duringheavy rains. Field consul- 1994 WaterManagement Studies at Kinal and Ad- tationwith James Ashby jacent of Mission Geoscience indi- Areas.In The IxcanrioRegional Archaeolog- catesthat the ical SurveyReport, dischargerate for the well is 9.8 gal/min. edited by R. E. W. Adams. Uni- Althoughthe versity of Texas, San Antonio, in dischargerate for the well is strong,draw- press. ing Scarborough,V. L., and G. G. Gallopin water by hand with fragileclay pots would prevent 1991 A WaterStorage Adaptation in the MayaLow- thewell from supplyingthe needs of a largepopulation. lands. Science 251:658-662. Nevertheless,it remains curious that a larger house- Tourtellot,G. III mounddensity is not associatedwith the feature,given 1993 A critiqueof the WaterManagement Hypoth- thepremium on water. esis. Manuscripton file, Departmentof Anthropol- 3Mound or structurecounts are based on ogy, University of Cincinnati,Cincinnati, Ohio. individual Tourtellot,G. III, and J. Rose buildingremains ratherthan collective household loci suchas 1993 More on Light on La Milpa: Interim Report patio groups. on the 1993 Season.Manuscript on file, Department 4James Ashby, a geologist with hydrologic expertise, of Anthropology,University of Cincinnati,Cincin- examinedthe check-dam terracesand confirmedtheir nati, Ohio. artificialconstruction. Nicholas Dunning has recently Scarborough et al.] WATERAND LAND AT LA MILPA,BELIZE 119 corroborated the human origin of these features. Nev- chultuns in the northern Yucatan where they are abun- ertheless, Gair Tourtellot-principal surveyor and co- dant, but awkwardly accessible to their interiors, indicate director for the La Milpa Archaeological Project-re- the controlled and limited catchment surfaces respon- serves judgment on their artificial appearance until ad- sible for their recharge. Unlike the La Milpa cistern, ditional testing can be performed (Tourtellot and Rose runoff was collected from the paved surfaces of the im- 1993). mediate household. Here, water access from above was

5 Tourtellot has questioned the capacity of Reservoir C easy, but cleaning and maintenance of the chultun was given the location of the low-lying Structures 184 and more difficult. 185 resting only 1.5-2.0 m above the extant height of 7 The structure numbering system was initiated by Tho- the dam. However, until these structures are excavated mas Guderjan and is a simple numerical progression and shown not to be water-related features and dem- based on time of discovery.

onstrated to be coeval with the water management sys- 8 Tourtellot has reexamined the dimensions of this fea- tem, debate will continue. We do realize that the burden ture, suggesting a shallower depth by well over a meter. of proof in substantiating the water management argu- We defer to his elevational readings and will make the ment is our responsibility, but until more time and en- necessary volumetric correction when these data are made ergy are made available to test our reconstruction, some available formally. Although these new figures will re- important data sets must remain mute. Most problem- duce the amount of water available, we do not believe oriented research in archaeology is influenced by the that they significantly affect the character of our argu- question of how much well-marshalled information is ment. convince an audience of peers. Given that enough to 9 Tourtellot indicates the apparent absence of a con- water management systems in the southern Maya Low- necting surface channel that would allow Reservoir B to lands have been neglected as a research interest, it will spill into Drainage 4. Precisely how Reservoir B was be some time before enough significant data are pre- discharged remains an enigma, although underground sented from meaningful contexts to convince everyone. drains have been reported at other sites (Scarborough Nevertheless, water management systems dating to the l991b). Classic period are coming to light elsewhere, permitting 17) state, "Falls of rain are often the timeliness of this report. '° Wright et al. (1959: of an intense kind; 5 inches [12.7 cm] in 24 hours is 6 The mouth of the chultun was positioned approxi- experienced not infrequently." mately 1 m above the immediate course of Drainage 3a. " Wilken (1987:159) observes that in Chilac near Te- Given the rainy-season overflow hypothesized for each member Drainage 3a, the chultun's location slightly above the huacan, Puebla, a canalized spring permits main course ofthe channel may have reduced the amount of the community at least one share of water or 1.3 x 106 ( I m3 = 1,000 liters). This is adequate to irrigate of silt and related debris carried into the cavity. A simple liters entire area associated with the stone diversion weir or wooden flume located higher plots of nearly I ha. The indicating that than the mouth ofthe cistern and connected to the Drain- field flat above La Milpa Aguada is 7 ha, partially water this area. Nev- age 3a would have redirected overflow into the cistern. Reservoir A could only No such features were identified, however. ertheless, if Reservoir B released its water volume via The lateral offset entrance and landing suggest the ne- Drainage 4, then the complete field area could be ade- low, given cessity to enter the chultun routinely. Although sedi- quately moistened. This estimate is believed mentation was reduced by the cistern's position away the elevated water table associated with the nearby agllad?s from the course of the drainage, considerable amounts as well as the lower evaporation rates in the Maya Low- of debris still would be expected. Surface excavations lands. around the mouth of the chultun indicate a high inci- dence of clayey soil and the broken remains of large jars, a predictable condition associated with periodic dredging ReceivedNovember 9, 1993; acceptedAZarch 30, 1994 or maintenance, and water use. Comparisons to cistern