Source: Beach, Timothy, and N.P. Dunning. 1995. Ancient Maya terracing and modern conservation in the Peten rain forest of Guatemala. J. Soil Water Conserv. 50:138-145.

Ancient Mayan terracing techniques may be reintroduced into modern Mayan agriculture. The authors compare modern and ancient Mayan agricultural practices and present an overview of the environment, agriculture, and archaeology of the Peten rain forest. Soil erosion has always been a major agricultural problem of the Peten rainforest, and five ancient terracing techniques that helped control soil erosion have been unearthed at two archaeological sites, Tamarandito and Petexbatun. The author's main goal is to understand ancient Mayan conservation techniques in order to reintroduce them in the Peten region. The humid, and rainy climate (more than 200 cm per year) of the Peten, combined with the slash-and-burn milpa systems of the Maya lead to the estimated 94 metric t/ha of annual soil erosion. This emphasizes that contemporary agricultural systems are "largely extractive and short-term." In their research at Petexbatun and Tamarandito, the authors have unearthed the following types of terraces used by the ancient Maya to deter soil erosion: box terraces, dry-slope contour terraces, footslope terraces, steep slope check dams, and weir terraces. They speculate that "Terracing should reduce erosion by about one-half, depending on the amount of maintenance received." Unlike the present day, ancient Mayan agricultural systems were developed to be more long-term and sustainable. Most modern-day farmers view these ancient terraces as only relics. The people today are mainly concerned with surviving until the next year. Contemporary farmers view soil erosion as a problem over which they have no control, so it does not concern them. Because most of the region's farmers are more concerned with production than with conservation, the challenge is to develop conservation practices that are also productive. The ancient farming techniques of the Maya's ancestors may provide the appropriate technology.

Abstract author: Tsiorasa J. Barreiro, 12 November 1996.

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