TY  - BOOK
AU  - Ford,Anabel
AU  - Nigh,Ronald
TI  - The Maya Forest Garden: Eight Millennia of Sustainable Cultivation of the Tropical Woodlands 
T2  - New frontiers in historical ecology
SN  - 9781611329971 (hardback)
AV  - F1435.3 FOR 2015
U1  - 972/.6 23
PY  - 2015///
CY  - California
PB  - Left Voast Press
KW  - Mayas
KW  - Agriculture
KW  - Indians of Mexico
KW  - Indians of Central America
KW  - SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General
KW  - bisacsh
KW  - SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-250) and index; Machine generated contents note: Introduction: Chapter 1: The Context of the Maya Forest Chapter 2: Dwelling in the Maya Forest Chapter 3: Environmental Change and the Historical Ecology of the Maya Forest Chapter 4: Maya Land Use and Population in the Late Classic Period Chapter 5: Forested Landscape of the Ancient Maya Chapter 6: Maya Restoration Agriculture as Conservation for the 21st Century Appendix I: Native Cultigens Appendix II: Favored Trees References Index About the Authors
N2  - "The conventional wisdom says that the devolution of Classic Maya civilization occurred because its population grew too large and dense to be supported by primitive neotropical farming methods, resulting in debilitating famines and internecine struggles. Using research on contemporary Maya farming techniques and important new archaeological research, Ford and Nigh refute this Malthusian explanation of events in ancient Central America and posit a radical alternative theory. The authors  show that ancient Maya farmers developed ingenious, sustainable woodland techniques to cultivate numerous food plants (including the staple maize);  examine both contemporary tropical farming techniques and the archaeological record (particularly regarding climate) to reach their conclusions;  make the argument that these ancient techniques, still in use today, can support significant populations over long periods of time.  "--; "The conventional wisdom says that the devolution of classic Maya civilization occurred because its population grew too large and dense to be supported by primitive neotropical farming methods, resulting in debilitating famines and internecine struggles. Using research on contemporary Maya farming techniques and important new archaeological research, Ford and Nigh refute this Malthusian explanation of events in ancient Central America and posit a radical alternative theory. The authors -show that ancient Maya farmers developed ingenious, sustainable woodland techniques to cultivate numerous food plants (including the staple maize); -examine both contemporary tropical farming techniques and the archaeological record (particularly regarding climate) to reach their conclusions; -make the argument that these ancient techniques, still in use today, can support significant populations over long periods of time"--
ER  -