Influential landscapes: Temporal trends in the agricultural use of rejolladas at Tahcabo, Yucatán, Mexico

Abstract

In the northern Maya lowlands, agricultural practices varied as farmers responded to changing local and external circumstances. However, past agricultural dynamics have been difficult to detect archaeologically in the northern Yucatán peninsula of Mexico, in part due to shallow soils and poor preservation conditions. Deeper soils can be found in the region, particularly within landscape features called rejolladas—solution sinkholes that form large, bowl-like areas with characteristics advantageous for horticulture. As part of this study, based in the community of Tahcabo, Yucatán, we interviewed current town residents to understand the factors they consider when deciding what to grow today in centrally-located rejolladas. To determine what people grew within rejolladas in the past, we excavated within them and studied resulting pollen and soil carbon isotope samples. Results show that even as populations changed, farmers living in Tahcabo responded to the landscape, using rejolladas in broadly consistent ways through time. For example, one rejollada was used primarily for gardening, another for ritual activities, and a third for intensive cultivation. Still, innovations occurred—Tahcabo residents used rejolladas more intensively during the Late Formative through Early Classic periods, when populations were high and climate studies reveal a regional drying trend.