Lacandon Maya’s Sustainable Agricultural Practices in a Sub-Tropical Forest Setting

Source: Micaela Guirk

Ancient Maya civilization is important to study as we learn more about their sustainable practices in the sub-tropical forests of Central America. As you may know, ancient Maya existed in parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Scholars now know ancient Maya were able to sustain a long-term food production system that is not exactly being emulated today. Moreover, we know how fragile tropical forest ecosystems are and their severe limitations involving certain types of agricultural practices.

In today’s entry, I will talk about the practices of Lacandon Maya (roots go back to Chol-speaking Maya, present mostly in eastern Chiapas, Mexico) people as one of the few surviving traditional Maya groups. Some Lacandon continued to utilize traditional practices late into the 20^th century. Based on the anthropological studies from 1970s, it is observed that Lacandon practiced one of the most productive swidden system, comparable to the “well-known systems” in Southeast Asia (Nations and Nigh, 1980).

Lacandon Maya subsistence in a tropical-setting included:

La Milpa System (also known as slash-and-burn agriculture):

The practice basically involved clearing primary or secondary forests through fire and planting selected species in the newly enriched surface (through burning organic material to help replenish the soil with nutrients). Lacandones planted the area for about two to four years and intercropped it with a plant like tobacco (this cultigen necessitates a weed-free growing area). The fallowed area was also planted with economically important tree crops to obtain fruit, rubber and cordage during the fallow period. When the fallow and replanted area reached a certain growth, it was cleared again and burned for a second cycle of cultivation. Preferred locations to establish milpas were important.

According to ethnographic accounts of Lacandon, farmers first looked for well-drained flat areas.  They distinguished soils types as white (sak), yellow (k’an), sandy (sa’m) and clay (k’an) as undesired, and focused on yellow-bitter (k’ank’ah), red (chak) or black (ek) soils, all of which were observed to be moist and loosely packed. In addition, Lacandones were known to prefer establishing their milpas on areas that bore breadnut ramon (Brosimum alicastrum) and the ceiba tree (Ceiba pentandra) as these species thrive on rich, well drained soils. Corredor or xate palms could also be preferred (Chamaderia spp) locations, indicating that the area had moist and soft soil with the potential of producing good yields. On the other hand, areas with mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and tropical cedar (Cedrela odorata and C. Mexicana) were deemed too wet for milpa crops.

When establishing a la milpa, a firebreak was provided on all windward edges of the plot. If the bordering areas are burned, the area becomes colonized by weeds, which also impacts the milpa’s success. Additional firebreak primary forest species were kept as a secondary ring around the la milpa to create a moist and less combustible buffer.  The secondary ring was also useful as a source of seed for future forest regeneration and acted as a barrier to prevent the spread of insect pests and certain crop diseases into the la milpa.

After the milpa plot was burned, the farmer waited a month or so before he planted his corn. In the meantime, the farmer aimed to prevent soil erosion and nutrient leaching by planting fast-growing root and tree crops, such as taro (Xanthosoma sp), chayote (Sechium edule), papaya (Carica papaya), and bananas and plantains (Musa spp). When the rains began in May or June, the Lacandon farmer planted his corn and squash using a dibble stick, locating them 1-1 ½ m apart. Ten to fifteen days later, the farmer replanted the areas where the plant did not succeed. Together, the two rotation of corn seedings was observed to require eighty man-hours of work per hectare of la milpa (10,000 m²).

Subsequently, in the course of the rainy season (May through October), Lancadon farmer planted other root, grain and vegetable crops in their la milpa, establishing a polycropped plot. These crops were planted when primary forest indicator species flowered. Moreover, the root crops were planted at varying depths: taro and sweet potatoes several inches beneath the soil, manioc below them, and yam tubers below the manioc.

Researchers observed that the average yield of corn per hectare from the Lacandon milpa was an estimated 2.8 metric tons of shelled corn after loss to animal pests. This yield was much higher than the recent immigrants that came to the jungle that did not have the same sustainable practices. Further, most Lacondones were known to plant an autumn corn crop that yielded less harvests in the secondary planting. Nevertheless, more food could be obtained from the same plot.

As mentioned above, in a managed forest farming plot, part of the crop losses was due to animals pests. Interestingly, Lacandon Maya farmers planned and welcomed the presence of these animals. They knew wild mammals fed by their produce such as deer, squirrels, pacas, and peccaries would eventually provide meat protein to them. As a result, Lacandones left food purposefully to the wild animals on the side to ensure animals didn’t  bother their farmed la milpa plots and that they could be hunted for meat protein later on (Nations and Nigh, 1980)

In the end, we know that no other great culture in the Americas relied on a single farming system. Different forms of irrigation and raised field farming, terracing, slash-and-burn and several other forms of intensive cultivation were practiced simultaneously (Wilken, 1971; Beach et al. 2010). Descendants of the ancient Maya, like Lacandones, show us a glimpse of what kinds of sustainable farming practices are possible with good yields in sub-tropical forest settings.

EAF