Abstract
AbstractInvestigations of soil resources in the department of Petén, Guatemala can provide important insight into the agricultural and land use strategies of the ancient Maya. The site of Motul de San José, located 3 km north of Guatemala's Lago Petén Itzá, is situated in the core zone of Classic Maya civilization and in an area currently inhabited by the modern Itzá Maya. This area was occupied and farmed from the Middle Preclassic period (˜600 B.C.) to the Early Postclassic (˜A.D. 1000). During the Late Classic period (˜A.D. 600–830), Motul de San José was one of many centers of intense population growth. The authors focused on examining soil resources in the Motul de San José area. Soil studies included chemical and physical evaluations of soils and an investigation of the traditional soil classification system used by modern Itzá Maya farmers in the community of San José. The results of these investigations, along with a subsequent carbon isotopic study of ancient vegetative signatures by Webb et al. (this issue, 291–312) provide a framework for assessment of ancient Maya land‐use strategies in the Motul de San José area. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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