Unraveling another Mayan mystery

TitleUnraveling another Mayan mystery
Publication TypeMagazine Article
Year of Publication1987
AuthorsChen, A
MagazineDiscover
Pagination40-49
Date PublishedJune 1987
LanguageEnglish
Call NumberQ1.D53
Keywordscitrus; cocao; mahogany; mamey; Maya; pet kot; rainforests; raised fields; raman; sapodilla; sapote; slash and burn; Yucatan
Abstract

It has been thought for some time that he inability of the Maya to feed themselves was the precursor of their downfall. However Arturo Gomez-Pompa, a botanist and conservationist at the University of California at Riverside, has found evidence of raised fields in Maya territory which would have had the ability to support the Maya at their height. This paper contrasts raised field technology with slash-and-burn technology and looks at the advantages of raised fields over both slash and burn and modern agriculture.

ISSN

0274-7529

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