The prehistoric agricultural landscape of the central Maya lowlands: An examination of local variability in a regional context

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Abstract
Data on land resources and the locations of prehistoric residential sites are integrated to explain differential agricultural development and settlement pattern across the varied landscape of the central Maya lowlands. It is concluded that intensive dryfield cultivation within well‐drained uplands was the basis of food production at the regional scale. The significance of cultivation practices in other land resources varied according to the extent and availability of well‐drained uplands within local areas. Wetland cultivation, utilizing raised and drained fields, was significant in limited areas at the periphery of the region, where perennial swamps of karstic riverine floodplains and associated depressions were present and well‐drained uplands were scarce. Soil distributions provide a valuable instrument for predicting and explaining prehistoric Maya settlement pattern and land use.