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Abstract Even though lithics in the Maya region have traditionally been relegated to appendices and tool-type lists, much has been done to move beyond this descriptive approach in the last decade. In this article we highlight general themes of lithic studies in the Maya region since 2011, including economic production and exchange, the role of lithics in ritual practice, and the use of previously understudied raw materials and lithic forms, such as ground stone. Employing a temporal scope that encompasses the Maya and their preceramic predecessors, we explore gendered patterns of research within lithic studies from a feminist perspective and discuss the impacts that gender disparities have on academic thought.
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Favored Trees of the Maya Milpa Forest Garden Cycle
Comparisons of Maya forest gardens, the economic botany of the Maya forest, and identifications of plant remains in archaeological contexts converge on the value of the Maya forest as the reflection of the selective favoring of useful plants over time and across space. We have evaluated trees conserved in Maya milpas and present here an annotated list of significant categories of uses that transcend the ordinary, and highlight the extraordinary appreciation of plants and their role in the historical and cultural ecology of land use. Recognition of land cover significance, biodiversity, water conservation, erosion management, soil fertility principles, animal habitat essentials, and support for communities are all entangled with the role of plants. With an example of 160 confirmed trees favored in Maya milpa agricultural fields, we provide a window into economic values that dominate the Maya forest.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2024213
- PAR ID:
- 10597893
- Publisher / Repository:
- IntechOpen
- Date Published:
- ISSN:
- 1363-7320
- ISBN:
- 978-1-80355-435-8
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Book Chapter:
- https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106271
