24 PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECORD, RE CONSTRUCTION, FOREST SUCCESSION, ANDWEEDS IN THE MAYA MTL PA

Anabel Ford, Allison Jaqua, and Ronald Nigh

The pa leoe nvironmental reconstructions ofthe prehist oric Maya f orest have emphasized 'hat 'his culture's farm ing technology. their subsis tence and household economy, impacted the environment negatively by ultimately replacing f orest with savanna, and assuming that f arming inhibits the regrowth of'he forest. An examination ofweeds typ ically found in traditional lowland Maya fa rmlands, or milpas, provides insights into this assumption showing that woody shrubs and trees are a maj or component ojthe domin ated fie lds and that in fact once the maize cultivation ceases, these shrubs and frees will beg in the success/o il process. While weeds are often characterized as annual herbs and grasses, their common characteristics can be identified in their competitive abilities and tolerance to the open fi eld conditions created by agriculture. The negative val ue associated with we eds is inconsistent with the ethnobo tanicai and fimctional roles the listed weeds play in the Maya milpa. The habits and lues a/the identified weeds in the ope n milpa have implications jar understanding the home economy and conservation techniques of traditional Mayo farmers that reach back to ancient Maya times and demonstrate that the milpa is an adaptive sys tem in tim Maya j orest.

Introduction would be Ole true forest garden , Traditional The paleoenvironmental record for the Maya agriculture features the milp a: a poly­ Maya forest -presents data that have been cultivated plot of as many as 30 domesticated interpreted as demonstrating the forest crops in a maize-dominated field (Ford and Nigh conversion to grass lands over the course of 2009) ,Mi lpa fields are found year round in a ancient Maya land use and development 111is mosaic among reforested and mature forest interpretation, however, does not consider the cove r, Each seasonal period is associated with a nature of the agricultural landscape created by specific adaptive grow ing cycle , Maize is traditional Maya milpas and the role ofweeds in expected for Ol e two rainy periods, with June these fields, Weeds, while typically considered planting providing the highest yields, Ma ize may undesirable in a plowed field, serve multiple be planted in a third dry period, but this will not purposes in a traditional rnilpa. This paper looks produce a major crop, A variety of some 30 at the weeds of the milpa, their habits, uses, and domesticated crops are selected from more than pollination vector or syndrome (biotic or abiotic) 70 crops to be intermixed in the ope n fields to demonstrat e that the pred ominant presence of (Ford and Nigh 2009:2 16-218; Te ran and Wi nd-transported grass and herb pollens in Rasmussen 1994, 1998), This purposeful lowland lake core sediments is indeed the selection is apart from the pioneer weeds and product of an increasing anthropogenic stump sprouts that volunteer within the fields landscape but not a deforested one, We will and make up the heritage ofreforestation. show that the weeds of the milpa become the The landscape then is a mosaic of the foundation of the reforestation cycle that begins open fields and the forest gardens intricately with the opening of the agricultural field , intertwined with the household economy providin g subsistence, medicine, fiber, and foods Understanding the Maya Milpa-Forest that maintain the family system. The first stage Garden Cycle of cultivation is the opening of the forest for the To adequately interpret the signature of maize domin ated field, Cultivati on of maize is herbs and grasses in the pollen cores of the then followed by an initial stage of reforestation Maya forest it is necessary to under stand the with selected economic trees and shrubs, Fina lly, milpa-forest garden cycle in a mosaic across the reforestation is completed with the maturation of landscape, In other words, at anyone time, the the closed canopy forest garden (Table 1), These landscape will have some proportion of milpa stages match the natural cycle of forest gaps, and other proportions of building dynamics with gaps, buildin g phases, and succession, and other proportions of closed maturation of the landscape (Kellman and canopy trees along with the home gardens that Tackab erry 1997:146-157), The managed

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 9, 20 12, pp. 279-288. Copyright l:l 20t2 by the Institute ofArchaeology, NICH, Belize, Forest Reconstruction and Weeds

Milpa Cycle Plants

Stage 1-2apenjield Open milpa: - 30 erops of - 70 spp; dominated by maize.squash, , - Favoring Sun , chili, root crops, weeds Palms; Coppiced shrubs and trees; short lived perennials; seedling fruil 1-3 yrs, 3-7 yrs trees for Stage 3-4

Stage 3-4 reforestation Long lived Perennials - Fruit trees and palms - Producing Shade Seedling long lived perennial hardwoods interspersed with fruit trees for 7-15 yrs, 15-30 yrs Stage 5

Stage 5 closed canopy Closed Canopy well-managed forest - Kanankaax - FavoringShade Tall trees ofhardwoods and fruit Harvest & ready for Stage I

Table I .Representative Milpa - Forest Garden Cycle. mosaic provides a dynam ic of changin g fore st the labor investments in all aspects of the mi lpa­ cover that is variab ly cycling through the to-forest garden cycle. Weedy volunteers landscape (Down ey 2010). them selves may be immediately usefu l for food, The field cutt ing, w hich initiates the mil pa spice, dye, and medicine. They may also prov ide cycle, is accomplished w ith one hot bum ecologica l functi ons such as land cove r for occurring at the end of the dry season in May, in mo isture co nservation, animal and insect preparati on for the rains. Co incide nt w ith the attraction for pollination, plant competition for first rains, the maize is plan ted in the fie ld. This improved y ields, and the acce lerat ion of is the main maize crop of the year w ith yields reforestation for the next stages of the cycle from 855 kg/h a (Cowgill 1962) to 1144 kg/h a (Lambert and Amason 1989). These va lues bui ld (Redfield an d V illa Rojas 1962) and up to 2800 into the subsequent reforestation stage w ith trees kg/h a (Nations and N igh 1980: 13). Y ields of for fru it and co nstruct ion, typical of the forest bea ns, squash, and squash seeds, as we ll as garden (Ford 2008). Th is orchestration of many other crops, are reaped from the same species selection, planting, and managem ent has fields. A second plan ting takes place in created one of the most diverse domesticated November and is dep end ent on the lower plant systems in the wo rld (Campbell 2007), and precipitation characteristic of the cool northern it has been faci litated by the fun damental too l of rain s typical for thi s time of the year. There may the open maize field , or milpa. We wi ll show be a third dry season crop as well, adding to the that the diversity of the weed commun ities that annual household economy. A traditional flourish in the distu rbed agr icultural fie ld habitat low land milpa is typically used fo r maize of the tradi tional Maya milpa fun ction is an cultivation for approximately four years. This essentia l platform for the progression to the period of intensive maize cu ltiva tion is fo llowed forest garde n. Thus , it is ev ident that the crop by refores tation stages lasting fro m 12-2 0 years. an d weed co mponents of the open milpa field The field s opened for maize culti vation invite contribute to the pollen record ed in the lake the gro wth of weedy plants, but our questions cores that form the paleoecological record. are: Do these weeds contribute to overall field management and the household economy and I dentifying Milpa W eed s how may this be reflected in the pollen observed The data we use come fro m two areas in lake-core sediments? rep resenting Maya adaptatio n: the northern M anaging and main taining field s that Yucatan ofMexico and the western Cayo district build economic value stresses the im portance of of Be lize (Figure I). Th e northern Yucatan, with

28 0 Ford

1000 mm of rain per year, is drier than Western Belize, with c. 2000 n1l11 per year. For both areas, the milpa cyc le proceeds in a similar manner based on the distribution of the rain over the year. Both areas are associated with archeological sites (Chichenltza in the case of Yuca tan and EI Pilar in the case of Belize). To address the nature of weeds, we explore the defined lists of weeds derived from farmers' fields in Piste, Yucatan and in Cayo, Belize (Stegge rda 194 I; Kellman and Adams 1970). While each researcher had different strategies of data collection, both efforts itemized plants that were not cultivated as crops; these volunteer and pioneer species were considered weeds in the observed active maize milpa fields. To gain a perspective on the weeds of the researched fields, we created a spreadsheet of the plant inventories with our research on habit, uses, life cycle, and pollination. Our catalog of the weeds reveals considerable diversity of plant habits, an amazing variety of recorded plant uses, the presence of both annua ls and Figure 1. Map of Rain Gradients with Chichen Itza perenni als, and all types of pollination and Cayo locations indicated. syndromes. These are anthro pogenic plants that withstood, and even required, cutting and plants noted beyond the sample inventory burning to thrive (e.g., the corozo/cohune palm : (Steggerda 194 1:100-107). Every weed-any Steinberg 1998; see Anderson et al. 1991). plant that was not a crop--was counted along These fields are multifaceted with useful crops with the num ber of times it was represented in and weeds that, together, are an essential the field (Steggerda 1941:99). A total of 49 indicator of the human-environment different plants were recorded by Mayan and relationship. scientific names in his samp le, with an The Yucatan example dates to the 1930 's additional 29 weeds noted outside the sample before WWII and the introduction of and itemized across the same fields for a total of comm ercial fertilizers, pesticides, and hybrids 78 plants. (Steggerda 194 I). The ethnographic context for The Belize examp le incorporates data Steggerda's research was under the auspices of collected in the late 1960's (Kellman and Adams the Carnegie Institute of Washin gton, a major 1970), we ll after WWI and within the era when interdisciplinary Maya research program of the petrochemicals and plant hybrids began to be time . Steggerda's study exam ined Maya family available. There is no indication that any size and make-up, health and work habits, and suppleme nts were used in these fields. Using metric measurements of physique. Part of his scientific names and frequency, Kellman and consideration of health and work included Maya Adams present a methodical itemization of the subsistence practices. Rigorously reco rding all classified weeds and their distribution be could, Steggerda docum ented agric ultura l (1970:330-333). They identify weed genera and field size, planted crops, and crop yields from species from 31 fields totaling 196 species. the field s of his Maya informants. These fields The weed lists were tabu lated and were the source of bis itemization ofweeds. The examined separately for habit, economic use, data come from a series of 4 sq. meters in the duration, and pollination syndrome to create a center offive fields and included additional new database on weeds of the milpa. Habit was

281 forest Reconstruction and Weeds

determined using several sources, most (Figure 2) and thus the fields are not simply prominently the Unites States Department of crops with annual volunteer herbs and grasses, Agriculture web site (USDA 20II ). Habits were as routinely assumed when considering then charted to compare the percentage of herbs, agricultural field clearings. Interestingly, the shrubs, trees, vines and grass. The two main majority of the plants have uses that arc sources used for determining economic values referenced in economic botanical sources. were Roys (1976 [1 931)), The Ethno-botany of Clearly, there is more to the fields than lely the Maya, and Balick et al. (2000), Checklist of domesticated crops. the Vascular Plants ofBelize. Each listed plant The weeds in the open milpa field have was assessed in terms of origin, pollen many identifiable uses. Beyond the immediate syndrome, and habit and the uses inventoried values and uses recorded in ethnobotanical and tabulated in our new database. The studies, stumps of the trees and shrubs that were economic plants are charted based on the type of once cut and burned, re-sprout during the period use including medicine, production, food, and of time in which the maize is the dominant crop. construction, to name a few examples. These resources aid in the next phases of The pollination syndrome is important in reforestation and provide the source of organic the interpretation of the herb and grass matter and ultimately shade that hastens components in the lake core sediments. We succession and inhibits herbs and grasses (see used over 40 authoritative sources to research Figure 2). the difficult question of pollination syndromes Diversity in plant habits is the theme of (sources available upon request). An effort was the milpa fields. The trend in habit in made to determine the syndrome at the levels of Steggerda's plant list dates to the 1930s (Figure genus and species wbenever possible; where 2). Trees and shrubs represent 49% of the data were unavailable, we resorted to the family inve ntory, plant habits of vines and herbs each level for comparison. Pollination syndromes are represent a quarter of the inventory at 25% and evaluated by category: wind, insect, mammal, or 25% respectively, and even though the fields are self-po llination, as is the case for ferns and some open to encourage grasses, they represent only grasses. It is commonly understood that it is the the small fraction of 1% of the Yucatecan fields. wind pollen that is broadly represented in the The data of Kellman and Adams' from the 1960s lake cores (Kellman and Tackberry 1997). share many common themes but different trends. The results of our research are Trees and shrubs represent more than a quarter illuminating. While crop production was the of the inventory at 26% (Figure 2).Combined, primary function of the field, many other herbs and vines are similar to those of the 1930s products are derived from the milpa (Steggerda example, but in different proportions, herbs with 1941:117-124; Teran and Rasmussen 1994, 38% and vines with 12%. Grasses on the other 1998). Indeed , weed species increase the hand represent nearly one fifth of the inventory, potential of the milpa to support the home at 20%. Annuals are not a large compo nent of economy, providing significant value during the weeds in the milpas of either context: cultivation and contributing value thereafter in perennials make up 88% of Steggerda's and the reforestation stages (Ford and N igh 2010). 76% ofKellman and Adams' weeds (Figure 3). These are the "good farmers" that Wilken (1987) This diversity of weed presents a number discusses where the open milpa is only one stage of options for household adaptation and of the land use cycle and the plot evolves into succeeding stages of the cycle. In an the mature woody plants favored for food and environment where there is a distinct dry period construction (Ford 2008). where evapotranspiration is high and the limestone bedrock is porous, there are Results advantages to having plant cover to maintain Our research began with the habits and moisture in the system (Torres 2006). economic uses of the weeds of the Furthermore, weed association may be beneficial milpa.Remarkably, all plant habits, including in that the crops will compete to supersede the trees and shrubs, are found in the list of weeds

282 Forti

Steggerd a Plant Habit Kellman and Adams Plant Habit

. Tro . Shrub 2% .Polm . Vlno 10% • Herb Grass o Fern

1% 2% Figure 2.Habits of the Milpa Weeds.

milpa cycle where woody plants promote shade The potential immediate, as well as future, and mulch for ensuing reforestation (see Table values among the weeds are numerous. The I). intimate relationsh ip between the Maya farmers Turning to the ethnobotany of the weed and their landscape is indicative of these inventories, there is another factor favoring the utilities. The skill and knowledge that is presence of the weeds. The majority of the represented in these known uses reflects a inventoried weeds have listed uses in Roys remarkable integration of the Maya forest (1976) and Balick (2000): 86% for Steggerda's landscape (Atran 1993) and the farmers' land list and 66% of Kellman and Adams list. These use. economic uses provide everything from Another noteworthy variable considered medicine and spice to food and construction in our catalogue was pollen. It has been assumed (Figure 4). Most plants indicate multiple uses: by the paleoecologists that annual herbs and 69% for Stegge rda's and 49% for Kellman and grasses dominate the open maize fields favo ring Adam's list. a move to savanna as opposed to reforestation, Considering the weeds with uses, both but this is not the case. ln addition, it is assumed Steggerda's and Kellman and Adam's lists that the presence of disturbance taxa is indicate that the major ity of uses fall into the indicative of deforestation. The data we have realm of medicines (see Stepp 2004; also Figure compiled on the weeds from the tradit ional 4). Medicinal herbs are routinely related to the milpa context demonstrate that this is not the areas of disturbance created by human activ ity case. The wind pollinated weeds represent less and abound near homes and in fields where the than one third of the weeds, 28% of the total. sun will favor the sprouting of these pioneering These are the disturbance taxa reported in the herbs because of exposure. Food and production lake core pollen and include these famili es: are the next most important uses of milpa weeds Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, by the lowland Maya. Steggerda's list reveals Euphorbiaceae, and Poaceae. Interestingly, there that 31% were used for food and 22% for are 2 families represented among the herbs that production, while Kellman and Adam's list are generally classed as forest taxa, Burseraceae reveals 31% each for food and 33% for and Moraceae, suggesting that even these production. Other uses for plant lists for the generalizations about the Maya forest and Yucatan and Belize include construction, poison, disturbance taxa must be considered carefully beverage, dye, fuel, spice, and fiber (see Figure with respect to land use. 4).

283 Forest Reconstruction and Weeds

Discussion Stcggordo OurntlonIHoblt To understand the weeds of the Maya milpa it is important to app reciate that, like the p.lm butterfly, the milpa cycle has multiple stages. T... ------We are visually attracted to the maize field and understand it as an investment in cro pland. Just "'N' ''''--- R as the first conquistadors named the milpa, they l:::J propagated the use of the word milpa to define ,-....-----~~~I"'"--

the Mesoamerican maize field. The maize field, Gra.. - however, is just one of the stages of a recurrin g Forn cyc le (see Table I) which begins with the s initially cleared maize-dominated plot, is .. " " " " succeeded by the building of the useful woody perennials, and culminates with maturation as a Kellman and Adams OuratlonIH abll closed canopy forest garden. The long-standing use of this cycle by farmers of the Maya region Palm - is, in fact, suggested through an etymological study of the word milpa. Traced back to its ------ origin, the word milpa is a com bination "'N' ------of the words millipan, milli mean ing to cultivate VIM !!!'------and pan meaning place (Bierhorst 1985: 2 13, 259).The open field is crowded with plants, Gr.., representing every plant habit from grasses and F~ - herbs to shrubs and trees; it is not merely maize. o .. 20 The milpa harbors a diversity of plants of all " " " " habits that are critical to the process of the Figure 3. Plant habits and duration of the Milpa developme nt of the milpa cycle (Ford and Nig h Weeds. 2009:217). Stagg_ d. Pi.... ' u... The weeds of the maize milpa play a significant role in the short-term management of --_~ . resources of the open field stage of the cyc le ... . (Linares and Bey 20 I0). As the foundation of ._--­ the Maya land use system, the milpa is -- biologically diverse and in sharp con trast with ---.-_-.-- what has become known as "conventional -- agriculture" founded on the principle of mono­ ~ 1 ~ ~ -.:= -~_ =--_ _ -_ _ _-_ - cropping. Not simply made up of the triad of maize-beans-squash, other cro ps as well as the weeds of the milpa play important roles both biologically and culturally. Imm ediate uses that Kellmlln and Aclam , Planl Usn make up the weeds are just the beginning- uses .~_.- that include gum, incense, latex, oil, fiber, spice, -...~­- ritual, fuel, ornamental, tannin, dye, beverage, ,- ­ poison, construction, food, production, and -- medicine. Over 90% of the useful plants are -- classed as medicinal. These are obviously -.... - important, but it does not end there. '=---- The multipl e economic uses cataloged ~ ~ ~===------among these weeds speak to the subtle qualities of the greater groups of plants in the milpa. Figure 4. Economic Uses for the Weeds of the These weeds set the stage for the long-term land Milpa.

284 Ford

The picture that emerges is of an eclectic combination of plants in both the crop a nd weed -":_1. components of the rn il pa, While most c rops arc' ...,. ---_... annuals, most of the weeds are perenn ial O, at _.. are largely bi tically p llinated: 88% of the -;.--- Yucatan milpa weeds and 75% of the Belize ----'-'- milpa weeds.We discovered that, like the er ps ----- that arc predominantly biotically pollinated, only ':=Ei ::;::==- _ 6% ofthe Yucatan weeds, and 28% of the Belize "' ''''' ... ~ weeds were wind pollinated. This demonstrate that the wind pollination component that would .. _- --.__ ._... - . __ ._-_...... - K"'lMn end Adams Planl U_ contribute to the pollen of the lake cores represents only a quarter of all the weeds, --~ '. _....':...­ commonly found in the Maya milpa. In es ence, ""'- there are no means by which direct data can ---' identify the variety of plants of the milpa or the -- forest (Ford 2008). The lake core sediments arc ---'----- dominated by wind pollinated plants, all of the -=-----~;;;;;;...- I families of wind pollinated plants are found in -~~;;;:~: ""' the milpas and are found in the lake cores. - _: 1... _", ", -' ...... -.....-."..;.---,-. I The milpa cycle is a creative development Figure 4.Economic Uses for the Weeds of the Milpa. of the landscape that improves the quality of the use, soil conservation, and reforestation of the biomass towards economical utility at every open maize plot. Within the immediate uses of stage of the cycle. Beyond the immediate uses of the plot are the biological controls. plants, woody species recorded in the milpa Domesticated crops are susceptible to a variety fields, mainly in the form of stump-sprouts, play of pest and plant competitions, and specific a significant role in the reforestation phase of the weedy plants are known to have interactions that fields. These stump sprouts grow vigorously and support crops and advantage yields.Allelopathic quickly and shade the soil surface during tho components can elimin ate undesirable crop reforestation stage (Kellman 2011). Inhibiting pests, attra ct insects and mold that otherwise the expansion of grasses nnd roproMo nllnl! 0 would attack crops, and inhibit soil borne major advantage for water conservnuon In thl diseases to act as a natural biological control for area of porous limestone bedrock. The high the domesticated crop s (Gliessman 198 1:182, proportion of woody shrubs and trees to annual 1983, 2004:66). Soil improvement and natural herbs and grasses provides evidence that the chemical protection; insect, fungi, bacteria, and open phase of the milpa cyc le is already nematode pest control, and pollinator attraction, advancing to the later reforestation stages. The are just some of the ways weeds act to benefit stump-sprouts of the maize field speed up the crops. At the same time, plants are encouraged reforestation process, building protection as well for other services: fast growing shade, as the conservation of water and soil. Tbese production of leaf litter, and attraction of birds. woody plants are vita l to the succeeding stages The weeds described by Steggerda, as well as ofthe milpa cycle. those identified by Kellman and Adams, serve Tree and shrub species that re-sprout in conservation roles in the field. Alfon so Tzul, a the field are the subject of selection or retired agricultural exten sion officer in Belize elimination, influencing the plant composition of states that he has never seen a traditi onal rnilpa the regenerating forest (Ford 2008 :186). In the subject to erosion and has never seen a plowed first years, the plants grow under the annual field with out erosion (Tzu! 2011). Weeds, in maize canopy, one that is replaced at least twice fact, facil itate the resourceful and resilient a year. When the short years of the maize field management design ofthe milpa . stage of the cycle come to an end, the surviving stump sprout.s that have already established

285 Forest Reconstruction and Weeds

themselves in the milpa, will become a part of always be a proportion of the lowland Maya the later mature stages of the cycle. In this way, landscape in open fields, but there will als be a the open milpa field is a central tool in the large proportion in the building and mature creation, development, and maintenance of the phases represented as well. Maya forest garden (Teran and Rasmussen 1994, Today's Maya forest, part of the greater Ford and Nigh 2009, Linares and Bey 20 I0). Mesoamerican forests that are among the most Rather than replacing the forest, weeds of the biodiverse in the world (Mitte rmeier et al. maize field initiate the trajectory of regeneration 2000:38), was left unmanaged after the pani h and the resulting active reforestation directs the conquest. Still, the forest today is dominated by forest composition to desired states of economic the economic qualities that were part of the and cultural utility. ancient Maya management system (Balick 2000, Far from becoming a savanna, the maize Campbell et al. 2006; Ross 2008). Many of these field is a diverse agroecological setting with economic plants were capitalized in the colonial plants of all habits, uses, and durations.The and historic periods (e.g. Logwood for dye, composition of the weeds does not lend itself to Mahogany for lumber, chicle for gum, Allspice the dominance of grasses and herbs, and while for seasoning). The value of the forest is the the grasses and herbs are present, they remain in product of millennia of selection by the Maya small proportions as part of the ecological (see Ford and Nigh 2010) which is evident in the process of succession.The paleoecological inherent knowledge and respect that traditional presence of herbs and grasses is consistent with farmers have for the forest today (Atran 1993; the presence of the maize milpa, they are not the Balick 2000; Campbell 2007; Ford 2008; Gomez dominant plants nor do they represent a Pompa and Kaus 1990; N igh 2008; Roys 1976; replacement of the forest. These results suggest Toledo et al, 2008; Toledo and Barrera-Bassols. that the "disturbance taxa" recorded in the 2008). paloeecological record support the interpretation The open maize field is a significant of anthopogenic impacts, but do not support the component of the milpa cycle, as evident in the interpretation of the savanna conversion. ancient pollen of the lake cores. While up to dozens of different domesticated crops may be Conclusion concurrently grown in the maize fields, it is the An interpretation of the landscape of the diversity of the weeds recorded in these fields Maya forest based on the dominance of wind that is remarkable. Since the majority of these borne taxa in the paleoecol ogical record is weeds offer utility for the farmer 's household, it premature. To understand the pollen data of the is difficult to exclude them in calculating the lake cores, one needs an appreciation of overall value of the plot. Those same herbs and traditional uses of the tropical forest and the role grasses noted in the paleoecological record of land use strategies. The agroecological speak directly to the management strategies of dynamic of the milpa-forest garden depends on the traditional milpa cycle. The promotion of an understanding of the cyclical nature of the plant diversity in the initial sun loving, maize­ manipulated plots of the traditional Maya dominated field guarantees the continuity of farmer. While open fields are part of the cycle, diversity into the reforestation and canopy stages so are the succeeding reforestation stages. In of the cycle. This complex composition plays a structure, the opening of a Maya milpa is not long-term role in the creation and development unlike the gaps created in forests by natural of the Maya forest as a garden. events, such as tree falls and hurricanes that change the immediate composition of the References Cited landscape (Kellman and Tackaberry 1997:252­ 153). From gaps, to forest building, and on to Anderson, A. B., P. H. May and M. J. Balick the mature canopy, we recognize the stages of 1991 The Subsidy from Nature:Palm Forests, Peasantry, and Development on an Amazon the milpa cycle from the open maize field, into Frontier. Columbia University Press, New York. the reforestation stages, and on to the closed canopy forest garden (Ford 2008). There will Atran, S.

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1993 ltza Maya Trop ical Agro-Forcstry.Crsveur Cropping Systems Research. Jo urnal 0/ ro» Anthropology 34(5):633-700 . Improvement 11(1-2):61·80.

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