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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya: Symbolism, Knowledge and Management of NaturalResourcesAuthor(s): Narciso Barrera-Bassols and Vctor M. ToledoSource: Journal of Latin American Geography, Vol. 4, No. 1, ETHNOECOLOGY (2005), pp. 9-41Published by: University of Texas PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25765087 .Accessed: 20/03/2014 18:36
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya:Symbolism, Knowledge and Management of
Natural Resources
Narciso Barrera-Bassols1Instituto eGeografia, nidadAcademicaMorelia. UNAM, Michoacdn,Mexico
Victor M. ToledoCentro de Investigacionesn cosistemas (CIECO), UNAM, Morelia Campus
Corresponding author
Abstract
There is a growing interest worldwide in adopting interdisciplinary approaches for
studying the complex and dynamic interplay between societies and landscapes. During the
last few years, ethnoecology, broadly defined as an integrative study of beliefs, knowledgeand practice of a given social entity, has emerged as a useful research method for the
comprehensive understanding of landscape use and management. Maya people have in
habited the Yucatan Peninsula for the last three thousand years, suggesting that Mayafarmers have successfully managed natural resources, preserving both nature and culture
in the long run. Despite research focusing on Yucatec Maya resource management, un
derstanding of how pre-Hispanic Maya adapted to their heterogeneous and changingenvironment during the past is still limited. There are few studies that fully understand
and explain how contemporary Maya farmers perceive, know, use and manage their land
scapes as awhole. By applying the ethnoecological approach, this article reveals the inex
tricable links between beliefs, knowledge and management of natural resources amongthe Yucatec Maya. The paper concludes by discussing the highly resilient capacity of
Yucatec Maya producers through examining two main mechanisms: their multiple-use
strategy and their cross-scale concept of health.
Keywords: Ethnoecology, landscape, natural resourcemanagement, indigenous knowledge, esoamerica,
Yucatec Maya, Mexico
Resumen
Existe un creciente interes a nivel mundial por adoptar enfoques interdisciplinariosen el estudio de lasmiiltifaceticas relaciones entre la sociedad y sus paisajes. La etnoecologia,definida en terminos generales como el estudio integral de creencias, conocimientos y
practicas de una entidad social dada, ha surgido como un metodo cientifico util para el
cabal entendimiento de la apropiacion humana de la naturaleza. El pueblo Maya ha habitado
la Peninsula de Yucatan durante los ultimos 3 mil afios, lo cual sugiere que el campesino
Maya ha manejado sus recursos naturales de manera exitosa, preservando naturaleza ycultura a traves del tiempo. Sin embargo, existen pocos estudios dedicados a entender y
explicar, de manera integrada, como el campesino Maya percibe, conoce, usa ymanejasus
recursos naturales. Al aplicar el metodo etnoecologico, este articulo revela las inseparablesrelaciones que existen entre creencia, conocimiento y practica entre los Maya yucatecosactuales. El articulo finaliza discutiendo la alta capacidad de resiliencia mostrada por los
Maya yucatecos a traves de dos mecanismos principales: la estrategia de uso multiple ysu
concepto multi-escalar de salud.
journal of atin American Geography (1), 2005
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 11
mediated by intellectual functions, such as knowledge and cosmology, and organized bysocial institutions.
Conceptual framework: The k-c-p complex as a theoretical foundation
of ethnoecologyEthnoecology can be defined as an interdisciplinary study of how nature is per
ceived by humans through a screen of beliefs and knowledge, and how humans, throughtheir symbolic meanings and representations, use and/or manage landscapes and naturalresources. This approach allows recognition of the cultural value of the belief-knowl
edge-practice (k-c-p) complex (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Ethnoecology focuses on the kosmos, corpus and praxis (k-c-p) complex.
By focusing on the kosmos, the belief system or cosmovision, the corpus, the whole
repertory of knowledge or cognitive systems, and the praxis, the set of production
practices, ethnoecology offers an integrative approach to the study of the process of
human appropriation of nature (see details inToledo 1992; 2002; Barrera-Bassols 2003).
Ethnoecology seeks to explore the connections, synergies and feedbacks between the
whole repertory of the Yucatec Maya symbols, concepts and perceptions of landscapesand natural resources, and the set of practical operations through which the material
appropriation of nature takes place.The spatio-temporal analysis of the k-c-p matrix, recognized as the main aim of
any given ethnoecological study, allows a comprehensive and holistic understanding ofthe relationships between the three spheres involved in nature's appropriation, which are
geographically and historically contextualized: these are the mindscape, knownscape and
technoscape (Figure 2). The local eco-geographical thought and practice is the result of
the multiple interconnections between the above mentioned three spatiotemporal do
mains (see also Sauer 1925). Knownscapes and mindscapes are used as intellectual tools
Intellectual
appropriation
Material
appropriation
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12 Journal of Latin American Geography
CULTURAL CONTEXT
I
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 13
Maya (Toledo et al. 2002). Such a large number of studies about the Yucatec Maya reveal
much research focused on agriculture, soils, ethnobotany, natural resources management
(including housegardens, silviculture, hunting and bee-keeping) and ethnology, from a
broad perspective.We selected three kinds of studies for analyzing the k-c-p complex of the Yucatec
Maya: (1) updated and well-informed regional studies about vegetation, flora, soils, cli
mate, hurricanes, demography, linguistics and land use, which served to characterize hu
man setdements and landscapes of the Yucatan Peninsula; (2) case studies informingabout specific aspects of each one of the three ethnoecological domains (symbolism,
knowledge and practice). In this case, sixty Yucatec Maya communities were identified as
having one or more studies covering some aspects of the k-c-p complex2 (Figure 3 and
Table 1).
/ (30? YUCATAN0
a? /?^ X &/'?/ mS ,
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14 Journal of Latin American Geography
ern Maya Lowlands, where wetlands cover between 40 to 60% of the area, the northernlowlands are characterized by a lack of rivers and surface water, low rainfall, lower eleva
ETHNOECOLOGICALINFORMATION OF 60YUCATEC MAYA LOCALITIES (PART 1)
29
32
38
S. N. Buenavistaj
Los Divurciadosl
RealityBenito juarczHuntochac
Xcitpil
XcumcheiHampololKastamay
Pich
DzacauchenEjidoHaroIxchugalSta. Elena
KanibulChac -choben
KanreniocM. Ocampo
Tres Reyes
Chan Chen
20 de nov.
TenaboPuntaLaguna
MuxupipOxkintoc
Chankom
Tixcacaltuyub
Chacsinkin
X-Hazil
AuthorsRuenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Rucncset al. 1995Rueneset al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1Faust 1998Hirose 2003Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Rueneset al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995QuijanoHernandezi& Calmc 2002
CaribbeanReef &[Eastern oastalMargin]
Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Ruenes et al. 1995Caballero 1992Garcia-Frapolliet al.2005Dorruneucz- ke1996
Rcdfield& VillaRojasl934Giballero 1992Gutierrez 1996Villa-Roias 1978
Hernandez-Brisendet al. 1982Cortina -Villar1995
Flores& Balam1997
Raniirez-Borgiaet al. 2001Avila-Gomez 2003jorgenson 998
EAR1Puuc-BolonchenMillsPuuc-Bolonchen illsPuuc-Bolonchen illsPuuc-Bolonchen illsCentralHillsCentralHillsPuuc-Bolonchen illsPuuc-Bolonchen illsPuuc-Bolonchen illsEdzna-SilvirukTrough
CentralHillsCentralHillsPuuc-Bolonchen illsPuuc-Bolonchen illsNortheast Karst PlainUaymilUavmilCoba-Okop
CaribbeanReef &Eastern CoastalMarginCoba-OkopCoba-Okop. 0?. ~OkopThree Rivers
Three RiversUaymilPuuc-Bolonchen ills
Coba-Okop
North CoastPuuc-Santa lenaNortheastKarst PlainNortheastKarst Plain
Quintana RooDepressionCentralHills
North Coast
Uaymil
Kosmos
Sp,Ri,My
Ri,My
Sp,Ri,MyRi
My, Ri
Cqrjpus
PI, An,So,Veg
An, I.Veg
PI,An,So,Cl
PI,An
PI,An,Su
Table 1. Ethnological information offered from 60 case studies (seegeographical location in Figure 3), with aspects related to the Yucatec
Maya k-c-p complex.1 EAR: environmental adaptive regions of the Mayalowlands, proposed by Dunning et al. 1998.
tion and more level terrain, and low forest canopy (Fedick and Morrison 2004; Dunninget al. 2002).
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 15
ETHNOECOLOGICAL INFORMATION OF 60 YUCATEC MAYA LOCALITIES (PART 2)Locality Authors EAR< Kosmos Corpus Praxis
Caballero 1992 Gob -OkopCaballero 1992 Uavmil Hg41 |Teran Rassmussen
1994_Gob -Okop Sp,Ri,My
PI,An,So,Veg Ag,
Hor, Bee
42 Xuilub
Flores& Balam1997
Herrera-Castroet al. 1993Sanchez-Gonzalez1993
Gob -Okop Hg, Ext
Coba Barreraet al. 1976 Gob -Okop PI,Vc
Yalcoba Sosa t990 Northeast arstPlains Sp,Ri,My
Yaxuna Freidel et al. 1993 Northeast arstPlains Sp,Ri,My
Solferino LaTorre-Cuadros& Islebe2003 PI,Vc
Dzonot Ake Caballero 1992 Northeast arstPlains Hg
Loche Caballero 1992 Northeast arstPlains Hg
49 Yaxcaba
Arias 1980Isley 1984Flores& Balam1997
Northeast arstPlains Ri,My
Cl, PI, An,So,Ve
Ag, Hor, Arb,Bee
Sotuta Flores& Balam
1997
Northwest
Karst PlainsRi,My
Caballero 1992 Puuc-SantaElena Hg
Pixov Ucan-Hket al. 1984Northeast arst
Plains Ri,MyAg, Hor, Aro,
Bee
Maxcanu Caballero 1992 Puuc-SantaElena Hg
Sanabria 1986 PuucBolonchenHillsCl, PI,An,
So,VcAg, Hor, Ex,
Chunchucmil Ortega ct al. 1993NorthwestKarst Plains Hg
Chunhuhub Anderson 2003 Quintana RooDepression
A vilaCamacho Ortega et al. 1993 QuintanaRoo
_Depression An, PI Hu
X-Hazil Bello et al. 2000 PI,An, So Ag,Hg,Hor,Hu
Sinanche Monti el-Ortegaetal. 1999
Hocaba Estrada-Medinaet al.2004Northwest
Karst Plains Ag
Table 1 (continued).
The Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula: socio-cultural and geographicalcontexts
The socio-cultural context
The Mesoamerican region, which includes portions of Mexico, Guatemala, El Sal
vador, Belize, Honduras and Costa Rica, is one of the richest biological and cultural areas
of the world, housing over 100 indigenous peoples, with a current population of some 16
million inhabitants (Toledo et al. 2002). Approximately 0.8 million Yucatec-Mayan lan
guage-speaking inhabitants live in the states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche,within the Mexican portion of the Yucatan Peninsula (YP), according to the last population ensusofMexico (INEGI 2000).
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 17
relief of the northern Maya Lowland is amosaic of dissolution depressions alternatingwith rock outcrop mounds with a relative elevation of one to two meters.
Leptosols are the most common soils in the northern YP (Bautista-Zuniga et al.
2003a). Leptosols are not easy to classify using conventional taxonomies so that almost
everyone specializing inYucatan soils, including governmental agencies, research agenciesand extension services, uses theMayan soil nomenclature (Ewell 1984; Duch, 1989; Bautista
Zuniga et al. 2003a, 2003b; Estrada-Medina et al. 2004). Generally, soils are too shallow
and stony to allow agricultural mechanization; therefore, milpa shifting cultivation is the
best-adapted system to the patchy karstic landscapes of the region (Pool-Novelo 1980).Moreover, high spatial heterogeneity of Leptosol areas complicates soil inventory, agricultural development, agronomic experimentation and transfer of agricultural technol
ogy, among other things (Bautista et al. 2004).
Vegetation distribution follows the climatic zoning of the YP, ranging from low
forests in the dry northwest to tall forests in the humid southeast. Forests are distributedin a patch-like pattern due to shifting cultivation, with the inclusion of tropical plantations and pastures.
The Yucatec Maya appropriation of nature
The cognitive appropriation: the corpus sphereYucatec Maya ecological knowledge (the corpus sphere) is relatively well-known
and well documented. The best repertory of Yucatec Maya knowledge refers to nomen
clature and taxonomy of soils, relief, hydrology, plants (wild and cultivated) and vegetation. Local knowledge of climate, ecological processes or biotic interactions also existsbut has been poorly recorded.
Climate, relief nd soilsThe wide variety of Yucatec Maya meteorological and climatic terms demonstrates
a good understanding of the YP hydrological cycle and zoning, although the full compre
hension of these phenomena requires further analysis. Canul-Pech (1967) recognizes threemain climatic seasons, according to temperature, rainfall presence or absence and season
ality. Temperature, direction and intensity of winds, and rainfall are constantly assessed
around the year and within the day, as these factors are inextricably linked to the success
of Yucatec Maya shifting cultivation. Rainfall is constantly and obsessively monitored
during the annual cycle, as it is scarce, irregular and unpredictable. That is why Yucatec
Maya farmers make use of their astronomical knowledge to predict rainfall and recognizeas one of their main deities to Chaak, the rain God. In fact, Yucatec Maya farmers dependon their knowledge skills and constandy offer rituals to this uneven meteorological phenomenon.
The Maya term for soil is Luum. However, Lu'um also means land, terrain, land
scape and nature inYucatec Maya language. It is a comprehensive relational domain that
surpasses the scientific concept of soil body, because it considers the karstic landscape as
an integral unit where soil-relief-vegetation relationships and dynamics play a fundamen
tal role for farming practices (see below). Thus, Lu'um is a holistic concept reflecting
pervasive and discrete structures, dynamics and processes in the soil mande and on the
entire landscape, but which also includes a primordial symbolic domain within the Yucatec
Maya cosmology.So
far,Yucatec
Maya knowledgeon soils uses the most extensive
indigenous pedological terminology known among all Mesoamerican peoples, including Mestizo popula
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18 Journal of Latin American Geography
tions (Barrera-Bassols and Zinck 2000,2004). More than 80 descriptive terms have beenfound referring to soil characteristics, properties and attributes relating to color, texture,
structure, consistency, moisture retention capacity, moisture condition, soil erosion, soil
depth, soil fertility, stoniness, relief position, soil-relief-vegetation relations and anthro
pogenic soils. The number of descriptive terms used is rapidly increasing, as revealed innew ethnopedological research (Table 2) (Barrera-Bassols 2003; Bautista-Zuniga et al.
2004).
Yucatec MayaSoil Terms
(Luum)
Yucatec MayaEtymology
English Terms Spanish Terms
Soils named by colorBox lu 'um Box:
lightlack
lightblack soil Suelo
negroclaro
lik' lu 'um Ek': dark black Dark black soil Suelo negro obscuro
Katicab lu 'um Kan: yellowCab: reddish syrupReddish-yellowsoil Suelo Amarillo rojizo
Chak Kancab In urn Chak: red Yellowish-red soil Suelo rojo amarillentoChak lu 'um Char: dark red Dark reddish soil Suelo rojizo obscuro)a 'axkom i 'um Ya'axkom: green Gr soil Suelo verde
Sahkab lu 'um Sahkab: white White soil Suelo biancoSoils named by texture, structure and consistence
'Itrtkel u Tzekel: flat stone Flat stone soil Suelo pedregoso de la)aChid) lu 'urn Chich: gravel Gravellv soil Suelo gravosoPuus lu 'um Puus: loamy Loamy soil Suelo francoTaiakei lu 'urn Tatakei: sticky Sticky soil Suelo pegajosoKas tatakei u um Kas: halfTatakei: stickv Slightly sticky soil Suelo medio pegajosoKat lu'um Kat: heavy clay Heavy clay soil Suelo arcilloso pesadoKuut lu um Kuut: fine-grainedwhitish clay
Fine-grainedwhitish claved soil
Suelo fino arcillosov bianco
Tas In um Tas: soft Soft soil Suelo blandoChbchdk u 'um Chochok: loose Loose soil Suelo suelto, flojoBuy lu um Buy: hardness Harden soil Suelo endurecidoTutluk' Tul Luk': mud Muddv soil Suelo lodoso, lodo
Soils named by moisture retention capacity and moisture conditionSuelo que absorbebien el agua
u 'umn d~ud%icaDzudzic: to absorbHa: water
Soil with gooddrainage
Lu'um matech uhd^ttdsjc ha
Matech uh: to impedeDzudzic: to absorbHa: water_
Soilwith poordrainage conditions
Suelo que no absorbeel agua
Ak'akbe' A'kalche': swamp Swampy soil Suelo pantanoso
Kas chnl u'nm Kas: halfChul: moist Half moist soil Suelo medio mojado
Lu 'umtupis mli Tupis:field capacity
Chul: moistSoilmoisture atfield capacity
Humedad al pun to decapacidad de campo
l.M um ach dml Hach: excessiveChul: moistSoilmoisture atwilting point
Humedad al puntode marchitez
Ak' akannak lu 'um Ak': humidAkannak: fatty, reasyHumid and greasysoil
Suelo humedoVmantecoso
Table 2. Some soil and land terms commonly and widely used by Yucatec
Maya farmers. Source: Barrera-Bassols 2003.
The review f this terminology hows the following spects (Figure ):While soilterms referring to relief position, soil-relief-vegetation relationship, stoniness, texture,structure and consistency account for 62.5% of the Yucatec Maya soil nomenclature,terms
referringto fertility, moisture retention
capacity, drainage regimeand color account
for 27.5%. On the other hand, soil terms referring to erosion, depth and anthropogenic
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 19
soils include only 10% of the Yucatec Maya soil nomenclature. All of these soil properties and attributes are directly or indirectly related to soil fertility, land management and
workability under shifting cultivation in karstic landscapes. Although Yucatec Maya farm
ers are not aware of long-term soil formation processes, they are able to recognize andname soil erosion and fertility depletion processes when assessing shifting cultivation
practices.
14
12
10
(1)Relief(3) Soil-relief-vegetation(5) Fertility(7) Moisture
(9) Anthropogenic origin
(2) Stoniness
(4) Texture, structure and consistence
(6) Color
(8) Erosion
(10)Depth
Figure 4. Frequency of YM soil terms related to ten main soil properties.Source Barrera-Bassols 2003.
Soil identification is closely related to relief, such that this criterion determines the
highest number of soil categories. Yucatec Maya recognize at least 9 main relief types,and the understanding of soil-relief relations as a continuum resembles the concept of
soil catena or toposequence coined by Milne (1947), and reflects a detailed recognition of
the local and micro-local soil heterogeneity and variability (Bautista-Zufiiga et al. 2003b).Soil
depthand stoniness
playa critical
agriculturalrole in areas of shallow and
marginalsoils, and while the Yucatec Maya farmers recognize the soil as a 3-D body, nevertheless,the topsoil is considered the diagnostic horizon for the local soil classification.
From the literature review itwas found that the Yucatec Maya recognize some 30
soil taxa, with their corresponding relief types; twelve of them can be considered asmain
soil types. Most of these soil types are well represented in the YP and are further clustered
into subtypes. Contemporary Maya soil taxonomy is a rather simple but hierarchical system, according to ethnopedological research in different Mayan communities of the YP
(Perez-Pool 1984; Sanabria 1986; Dunning 1992; Teran and Rasmussen 1994; Estrada
Medina et al.2004).
Therecognition
of alarge
number of soilproperties
allows Yucatec
Maya farmers to classify soils by the inclusion of soil descriptors, which are not necessar
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20 Journal of Latin American Geography
ily used and contrasted among all soil taxa. Soil classification is based on color, relief
position, depth, stoniness, drainage, moisture retention capacity, consistence, texture, fer
tilityand
workabilityof the
topsoil.Although any comparison between the Yucatec Maya and technical soil classifica
tions is preliminary at this stage, the correlation between soil classes of two contrasting
systems is striking. Yucatec Maya farmers classify soils on the basis of a continuous as
sessment of the topsoil. Soil classes are determined using qualitative properties such as
soil fertility, relief, vegetation types and land-use history. Technical soil classifications use
measurable properties of the 3-D soil body, supported by laboratory determinations and
theories on soil formation. Yucatec Maya soil classification is behavioral, relational,
diachronic, qualitative, utilitarian and local, while technical soil classification is synchronic,measurable, genetically oriented and universal. The first relies on agricultural land-use
potential and soil fertility maintenance, while the second is based on diagnostic propertiesthat are not necessarily utilitarian.
However, recent research carried out by Bautista-Zuniga and collaborators (2004),demonstrates a close correlation between Mayan soil types and the WRB soil types alonga typical toposequence in the northern YP1 (Figure 5). Estrada-Medina and collaborators
(2004) found similar results when constructing a hierarchical Maya soil taxonomy inHocaba
municipality. Results also demonstrate synergies between the classifications systems, which
could be further utilized for agricultural development.
1ST(ALT1LLOorMOUND)
13.5-13c'%Shallowsoils
|1|
Highesttoninessnd ockiness.Lowest ulk ensity
Box liTamLight lack oils)Ch'oclTolBlackoils ith any malltones)Tsek'el Black,lat, tonyoils)Ch'ich'lu'um Black,ray r light rowngravellyoils)PushTumBlacko ray oamyoils)
Lithic yperskeletikeptosolsHyperskeletikeptosols
I* ithic eptosols*Rendziccntsols
CHPW1TS(LADERA
orSLOPE)
13.5-12.5 C %
lntergrade oils
Brownreddish rown,and rownreddish oils
SOIL TOPOSEQUENCEACCORDING TO
THE MAYA SOIL NOMENCLATUREAND THEWRB
TAAX(PLANADA or DEPRESSION)
9-6OC %
Deep soilsRedbrownish o ed oils
High ockinessand toniness.Lowbulkdensity
Intermediaterockinessndlow toniness.
'. Intermediatebulk ensity
Chaltnn .rlaylu'uraRed o(Black,hallow,lat, rownished.stonyoils) shallow
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 21
Flores 1998; Flores and Ucan-Ek 1983; Flores and Espejel 1994). These include both
spatial and temporal units, because Yucatec Maya also have a detailed repertory of termsto identify stages of vegetation renewal, the ecological succession process which is locallyknown as Hubche. Yucatec Maya terms define at least 10 of the 11main vegetation typesof the YP (Flores and Espejel 1994); besides, there are at least six terms used to characterize each forest renewal stage (Figure 6). Yucatec Maya farmers also identify relief-soil
vegetation relationships and processes depending on the plant ensemble position in both
place and time. In addition, there are numerous key-plant species used as ecological indicators for productive practices, such as soil fertility indicators.
Ecologicalsuccession
Ka'anal k'aax> 50years
//
\ ubche'
( Kelenche'15-30years
Ka'anal hubche'^ W-15 years
f .V
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 23
In addition to agricultural practices, two activities are especially important: gar
dening and hunting. Several studies show the myriad of plants obtained from housegardens,
principally fruits, firewood, medicinal plants and fodder. Floristic richness of these gardens fluctuates between 80-90 (Caballero 1992) to 250-276 species (Sanabria 1986; Ortega,et al. 1993), with amaximum of 387 (Herrera-Castro 1994). Housegardens are occupiedby a variety of domestic animals, most commonly pigs, turkeys, chickens and ducks, whichare especially consumed at feasts and rituals. Honey production from stingless bees
(Melipona spp) is also practiced. The Yucatec Maya landscape mosaic also allows huntingfor large and small mammal and bird species. Landscape variety (agricultural fields, fallows and mature forests) offers different hunting areas for domestic consumption.
Studies carried out in four Yucatec Maya villages of Quintana Roo (Jorgenson1998; Avila-Gomez 2003; Montiel-Ortega et al. 1999), show a selected pool of preferred
game species, including white-tailed deer, brocket deer, collared peccary, white lippedpeccary, coati, pocket gopher, tepevguintle, erete, chachalaca and ocellated turkey (Table 3).
NAMESScientific [ aya | Spanish English
I X: azil Sinanche
AvilaCamacho
Petcacab
Mammals
Qrthomnyshispiaus pocket gopher
9.0
Dasyproctapnnctata
tsuub sereke gouti 8.0 21
Agouitipaca jaleb tepescuintle paca 6.0 0.73 27 22
Nasua narica chiik,chwe tejon 28.5 5.1 25
Dasypusnovemrinicus armadillo armadillo 10
Tayassu pecari kitam puercotie
Imonte, ahuiHalwhite-lipped
peccary 0.51
Pecari tajacH kitam jabali collar pecarv 6.8 0.73 14 20
Manamaamericana brocket deer 2.7
Qdocoikusvirginianus keh
venado colablanca white-tailed deer 4.1 67.6 11 11
Tamanduamexicana
osohormigucro
ant bear 0.73
Felts wieddi tigrillo wild cat 2.2
BirdsCypturelluscinnawomeus perdiz thicket tinamou 2.2
Crax rtibra hocotaisan great curassow 2.2
Ortalis vetula Ixbachbaach chachalaca plain chachalaca 11.'
Agriocharisocellata kuts ipavode montd ocellated turkey 16.1
Colinusmgjrogularis I yucatec quail
4.4
Reptiles
iCteftosaura pp.vaaxikil iguana black iguana 0.73
Crocodylusmortleti aayin
cocodrilo depantano
moreletscrocodile 1.4
Table 3. Game species taken by Yucatec hunters from four villages. (Sources: Jorgenson
1998; Montiel-Ortegaet
al. 1999; Avila- Gomez 2003; Quijano-Hernandez and Calme2002).
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Of interest is that current hunters are roughly harvesting the same species as were
hunted by ancient Maya (Jorgenson 1998). Maya hunters have practiced subsistence hunt
ing for 4,000 years, thus suggesting similar landscape management and some co-evolu
tionary process between Yucatec Maya management strategies and hunted species
(Greenberg 1992; Jorgenson 1998). Yet more interesting is that most of these game
species are not only inhabitants of fallow and secondary forests but also regular or fre
quent visitors to the milpa fields (Table 4). The Yucatec Maya multiple-use strategy showsthat not only garden hunting but milpa hunting is central to survival, making milpa fields
local reservoirs of animal protein.
SPECIES
MILPA CYCLEClearing
andfelling
(1)
Burn
plot(2)
Plantseeds
(3)
Maize cob
growingperiod(4a)
Matureear corn
(4b)
PRESENCEIN MILPA
FIELDS
Odocoileusvirginianus
|(white-tailed deer)Frequent
\Ma%ama mericana(brocket deer) Regular
Pecari tajacu (collaripeeary)
VeryFrequent
Tayassu pecari(white-lipped
peccary)Ocassional
Agouitipaca (paca) Frequent
Dasyprocta punctata(gouti) Regular
Dasypusnovemcintcus(armadillo)
Ocassional
Nama narica (coati)Veryfrequent
Procyon lotor(raccoon) Regular
Tapirus bairdi(bairds tapir)
Ocassional
Ortalis vetula(Plain chachalaca)Doves
Regular
Regular
Table 4. Presence of 12 selected game species in a Yucatec Maya milpa field
(Source: Saldivia 1994).
The Yucatec Maya landscape-use evaluation
Yucatec Maya ecological knowledge is based on the analysis of climate-relief-soil
vegetation relations and ecological processes (succession), which enables multiple-usestrategy maintenance. As theorized in previous sections of this study, Yucatec Maya farmers apply their ecological knowledge in complex ways for production purposes. Their
landscape-use evaluation is based on: (1) assessment of soil-relief-vegetation relation
ships as a factor in the soil fertility status, land productivity and landscape management
according to specific practices, and (2) recording and monitoring of the landscape-usehistory. Milpa is managed as an agroforestry continuum, basically depending on the
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26 Journal of Latin American Geography
ment units. A brief description of each land management unit is given according to the
local soil fertility and land productivity ranking, using farmers' terminology3 (Table 5).Sites with evergreen tropical forest (Ya'axk'aax) are considered most fertile for
agriculture. Vegetables, fruit trees and short-cycle maize varieties are grown after clearing,cutting and burning the vegetation on the new agricultural plot. Forest sites on stony and
hilly terrain (T^eke/ k 'aax) are suitable for long-cycle maize varieties, while stony and flat
forest remains (T%eke/kancab k 'aax) are considered as the low fertility sites for agriculturalpurposes. Soil fertility replenishment is assessed according to soil type and the speed of
recovery of herbs, shrubs and trees, which may take up to 40 years. Thus the Yucatec
Maya producer not only distinguishes and uses succession processes, but manipulates the
speed of such processes for decision-making.
MILPAEK
LANDSCAPE UNITSEKWM 1PWM IBWM ICHK I CHB
Short cycle maize >4? >10
Long cycle maize >10 >10 >10
Pachpakal >4 >10 >20 >10
Tol-ch6 >4 >10
Homegarden >10
Bee-keeping >20 >4Hunting >4Plant gathering:
Edible >10 >10
Medicine >4
Firewood >4
Forage >3 >10
Tools >20 >20Wood >20 >4Others >10 >1 >10
Domestic tools >10
Table 5. Landscape units recognized and managed by Yucatec Maya farmers of Xu'ul,Yucatan. Numbers indicate years after fallow. Source: Sanabria 1986; Barrera-Bassols
2003.
The Yucatec Maya appropriation: the kosmos sphereAn ample literature sheds a good deal of light on the cosmovision of the pre
Hispanic Yucatec Maya. Research findings reveal a complex and rich Yucatec Maya symbolic representation of their world (see seminal works of Roys 1965; Thompson 1970;Coe 1980; Aveni 1992; Freidel et al. 1993; Breton et al. 2003). Archaeological and
ethnohistorical evidence, coupled with a vivid cultural presence of the Yucatec Maya
during the last 3,000 years, provide awealth of information on how the Maya structuredtheir worldview and their symbolic representations. The ancient Yucatec Maya cosmos is
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 27
well understood and is probably the best-known and fascinating Mesoamerican cosmo
logical world (Figure 7).However, there has been less research on how and why the contemporary Yucatec
Maya people still maintain and enrich their syncretic cosmovision or symbolic world.
There are only a few studies that focus on the links between the k-c-p complex, as regardsthe appropriation of nature (see for example Teran and Rasmussen 1994; Boccara 1997;Faust 1998 and 2001; Iroshe 2002; Breton et al. 2003, Quintal et al. 2003). However,
findings from this promising research field reveal the richness and complexity of the
contemporary Yucatec Maya kosmos sphere, in which farmers intend to balance their
'sacred ecology', as elaborated by Faust (1998), and inwhich they conceive and apply, in
their own peculiar and varied understanding, the notion of socio-ecological resilience
(Holling 2000). The Yucatec Maya conceptualization of land (Lu'um) as a polysemic,
syncretic and multidimensional domain, illustrates the inextricably links within the k-c-p
complex, and shows how farmers perceive and work with their own, syncretic theoriza
tion of world life and worldview, including their ritual representations.
Midday
ELAKIN (Red)
The sun (Eye of god)
W - ' v.>.
the holyabove
woRi^rr^rriYokulabl),,
Sunrise
i NOHOLf (Yellow)
CHIKIN (Black)The Moon (Ear of God)
Midnight
Figure 7. The Yucatec Maya worldview. Of note is that the Maya northcardinal corresponds to the western notion of the west cardinal point
(after Faust 1998; Iroshe 2002; Quintal et al. 2003).
The Yucatec Maya land concept as a polysemic, syncretic and multidimensional domain
Lu'um has a polysemic meaning because is commonly used when referring to soil,
land, terrain, territory, landscape, nature and world (Teran and Rasmussen 1994; Iroshe
2002). In fact, it is considered a comprehensive realm in the Yucatec Maya cosmovision.
However, meanings are assigned to a given discursive and practical context. Lu'um as a
comprehensive domain has also a utilitarian value related to food, housing, health and
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28 Journal of Latin American Geography
energy (Faust 1998) and as a symbolic (aesthetic, sacred and intangible) value (Iroshe
2002). Thus there is no strict separation between the material and the sacred values.
Lu'um has, in addition, a multidimensional connotation because it refers to: (a)land as a bi-dimensional domain, (b) the soil resource as a tri-dimensional body, and (c) as
having a fourth and intangible domain, that is the sacred one. In fact, Santo Yj4yum or the
"Spirit of the Land" is considered one of the most important deities of the Yucatec Maya
pantheon, and is still highly venerated.
As a sacred domain, Lu'um symbolizes the following principles: (1) a life supporter
(nature); (2) a home (sense of place); (3) an agricultural parcel or milpa (sense of abun
dance), (4)a territory aprimordial dentity alue); (5)awomb (sense f fertility), nd (5)a graveyard (sense of destiny). For example, Yucatec Maya define their own territory as
"U lu'umilwtntko ot the Land of the Maya (Quintal et al. 2003) (Figure 7). The seman
tic and epistemological richness of the Lu'um domain is also reflected by this holistic
perception, inwhich land is inextricably linked to the material and spiritual worlds (Iroshe
2002). Finally, Lu'um is a syncretic domain because the Yucatec Maya polymorphic discourse about land and its function and behavior, synthesizes knowledge acquired from
pre-Columbian Maya thought, colonial wisdom and modern knowledge.
Discussion
According to the material reviewed in the previous sections, examination of the k
c-pcomplex
of the Yucatec Maya shows notonly
coherentrelationships
between the
three domains, but reveals key processes which operate as "hinges" in the complex dynamics of the matrix. The following hinges may be pointed out: (a) the use of symboliccolors in their plant nomenclature and classification (Barrera-Marin et. al [1976], reportedone third of the over 900 vegetal taxa as being labeled by color); (b) the existence of a
myriad of gods and spirits linked to nature's elements, such as winds, rain, caves, springs,animals and plants (the number of deities in a well-studied Maya village reached 130
alone, as reported by Teran and Rasmussen (1994); (c) the performance of agrarian cer
emonies throughout the year (the rain-calling ceremony of Chac-Chaac has been reportedfrom at least 15 villages (Villa-Rojas 1968; Freidel et al. 1993; Flores and Balam 1997); (d)the sacred geography represented by the cosmic tree and the four world corners, which is
represented across scales: the human body, the home, the homegarden, the Kool or milpa,and the whole cosmos, and (e) the recognition of soil-relief-vegetation units in the land
scape, which operates as a key organizer of ecological knowledge, giving meaning to
intellectual rationale through practice. These examples illustrate reciprocal relations between the cosmological dimension, the cognitive body and the ensemble of practices.
In addition, two seminal processes function as key organizers of Yucatec Mayalandscape management and therefore as resilience mechanisms: (1) a wise managementof both ecological processes and biodiversity represented by the multiple-use strategy
(Figure 6), and (2) a guiding concept of health, which is applied across scale. These mechanisms express the double relationship that the Yucatec Maya establish with nature: thefirst situated in the sphere of the profane, objective and rational thinking; and the second
belonging to the domain of the subjective, unconscious and sacred rationale. Both guidetechno-productive and symbolic practice. They appear to be amalgamated in the farmer's
mind, with litde or no separation between the secular and the sacred or mystic thought,but in permanent feedback, so to say,mutually determined. The first offers informationabout nature through empirical knowledge; and the second deals will problems not cov
ered be the first (the unknown, uncontrollable and unpredictable), through the dialoguewith the supra-natural entities (gods, deities, spirits). In brief: nature, deities and humanswork together in the eternal production and reproduction of life.
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 29
The multiple-use strategy: the secular dimension of resilienceAny Yucatec Maya producer needs from nature (a) enough food, energy, medi
cines, water, tools and other goods and (b) commodities, that (c)must be sustained for
his/her subsistence, through time. This requires some recognition of the environmental
context and the use of adapted skills for landscape management. Thus knowledge about
physical and biological elements and ecological processes, and suitable landscape management are central to his/her survival.
Contemporary Yucatec Maya multiple-use strategy demonstrates all the above
mentioned mechanisms. Multiple-use implies lower production per land use unit, but
higher production of the aggregate landscape, and stands as a dynamic and permanent
system based on the benefits of diversity, when compared with specialized use. Thus, the
multiple-use strategy is an adaptive response to the high variety of landscapes, soils, relief
and biotic elements, and to the ecological process of tropical forests' succession. This
explains the existence of a "Maya silviculture", an idea postulated by Gomez-Pompa and
colleagues almost two decades ago (Gomez-Pompa 1987a; 1987b; Gomez-Pompa et al.
1987).Because natural forces will always tend to restore systems to their mature stage, the
maintenance cost will increase with increased management intensity. The Yucatec Maya,like many other pre-industrial societies, have benefited from forest recovery manipulation. The Yucatec Maya take advantage of forest restoration by maintaining landscape
variety, which helps derive benefits from land conversion and from the various fallow
stages, seeking the use of available resources with maximum efficiency. In spatial terms,maximum utilization is sought through the management of several landscape units. In
temporal terms, landscape diversity maintenance complements the use of a maximum
number of products offered by each landscape unit, throughout the year. As a result, this
strategy focuses on seeking for optimal combinations of all available landscape units
(mature forests, housegarden, fallow, shifting cultivation and intensive agriculture) while
maximizing products.Variety is a risk-avoidance mechanism, thus multiple-use functions as a buffering
strategy for both environmental uncertainties and hazards, and market fluctuations and
surprises. In summary, the Yucatec Maya practice a modality of what has been called
"adaptive management", based on the multiple use of species and landscape units, re
source rotation, landscape-patch and succession management (Berkes et al. 2000). Adaptive management isperformed inmany other indigenous territories of the Mexican tropical lowlands (Toledo et al. 2003). It represents a secular mode of resilience.
The concept of land health: the sacred dimension of resilienceAccording to Yucatec Maya perception, land is considered as a living being. Land
health is linked to the food chain, according to a higher discourse that connects health and
well-being of plants, animals and men with soil health (Iroshe 2002). This principle of
interconnection is used to explain the food chain: "If plants, animals and soils are healthy, then
men should ehealthf Vogt, 1979,citedby Iroshe, 002.pp.9).Soil health and soil quality are constandy assessed by means of assigning criteria
used for the human body health, for plants and for animals; thus the Yucatec Maya soil
theory uses mimicry to evaluate the land health. However, there is a subde difference in
the conception of land as a living being as compared with plants, animals and men. "Land
never dies as we do; and plants, and animals are also condemned to die... hand is a spirif (Iroshe2002. pp. 4). Yucatec Maya farmers consider that land may be degraded and behaves in a'death stage', but that it 'wakes up', regaining its own quality and health, after fallow and
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soil conservation practices are carried out (soil fertility replenishment) (Iroshe 2002. pp.
70).
Land,as a
living being,needs to be fed and cared for. This function does not
happen by itself, but with help from men and supra-natural beings {aluxes: owners or
saints that administer natural phenomena). This connotation shows principles of reci
procity and equality; and this is why rituals mimic conservation practices to maintain the
(symbolic and material) balance between abundance and scarcity, or weakness and strength.Connectedness means that all actors should work together as a team, otherwise men maynot receive the benefits from the borrowed land, and may be punished by nature and the
supra-natural beings (aluxes).
The importance of ritualsThe H'men or shaman (the middleman between spiritual forces and human beings)represents land-men connectedness, by affirming that "we are made of soil, and we will returnas soil after we die, and our body has been eaten byworms" (Iroshe 2002. pp. 65,70). The principleof land-men connectedness is central to the Yucatec Maya cosmology, as it is believedthat the human body is interconnected with all that surrounds him/her: the milpa,homegarden, plants, forest patches, rocks, soils, water, winds, constellations and stars, andthe sun and the moon. This connection includes other human beings (the household
family, villagers and the Yucatec Maya people), and deities.In
fact, it is commonly said thatmen are
allowedto
live in this world by the will ofnature and its sacred deities (Quintal et al. 2003). This is the way that the Yucatec Mayaorganize their worldview (Figure 7). Cosmic order allows resilience of multiple actors
(nature, men and deities). An example is the relatedness between agricultural rituals andsoil conservation practices.
H'men believe that land and water are also the first medicines that God providedto counteract men's illness. They say: "water is thefirst medicine, and lu 'urn s the second onewhere
plants are grown, which are the third medicine" (Iroshe 2002. pp. 66). Lu'um is considered as (1)a curative element, and (2) a sacred element in the Yucatec Maya medicinal practice. Somesoil classes, such as the Kancab and Chak lu'um are
widelyused to treat fever and other
diseases. Some diseases are considered natural or "earthly" diseases {Lu'um kabil), whileothers are considered to be provoked by supra-natural forces (lik naal or bad winds).
Medicinal practices are commonly used but intermixed with rituals, because is commonlybelieved that a person may be cured by offering gifts to lu'um or other aluxes, guided bythe h'men wisdom and experience. Some of the rituals offered to lu'um are: (1)Loh or
"awaking or curing the land", (2)Het% lu'um or "curing the homegarden", (3) Hanli k 'oloi
"feeding the milpa", (4) Loh corral or "curing the domestic animals", (5) Saka'or thanks
giving to the wind deities, and (6)Chac-chac the rain-asking ceremony. The main differencebetween rituals offered to the land and rituals offered to other Aluxes or
spirits,such as
rain, forest, sun, etc., is that an animal is sacrificed during the first. A bull, a 'virgin'chicken or a cock is sacrificed and buried at the center of the agricultural plot and offeredas a sacred fertilizer, that may allow land to be highly productive.
It is commonly thought that blood (red) will nurture land, prevent diseases of men
and/or help them to recuperate from disease. Sacrifice is seen as an exchange or gift toSanto Lu'um, or the "Spirit of the Land", to reestablish health of a sick person. Red isconceived of as a female color and land is also conceived of as female, while white is a
male color (semen) and is given to the land when a farmer penetrates the soil body withhis lob or digging stick. The mixture of red and white will be then stimulated
byrainfall,
which is also amale force.
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32 Journal of Latin American Geography
conquest), they never completely vanished as a culture, and in the near future, the
population will reach one million inhabitants. Yucatec Maya peasants have established
uneven relations with nearby growing urban centers during the last century (such as
Merida and more recendy Cancun), which have induced technological modifications,cultural transformations and unequal economic exchanges. The long-term existence of
the Yucatec Maya indicates that some kinds of mechanisms are present in both the
internal household and community relations, and in relations between localities and their
surrounding landscapes, allowing the continue reshaping of the Yucatec Maya culture,
despite changes which could destabilize the situation.
Since the Yucatec Maya culture has avoided ecological and cultural collapse throughtime, it is evident that it has a recovery capacity capable of dealing will different kinds of
disturbances. It demonstrates an adaptive capability to re-organize both social and eco
logical relations, after significant change. In other words, Yucatec Maya culture demon
strates high levels of resilience. Resilience is defined as the capacity of adaptive systemsto absorb disturbances (Reldman and Kinzig 2003), which translated to the field of cul
tural history means the ability to collectively memorize success and failure, including the
ways to overcome unexpected changes and perturbations.The long-term permanence of Yucatec Maya culture has been extensively researched
and debated from numerous perspectives (see seminal contributions in Harrison and
Turner 1978; Flannery 1982; Fedick 1996; Gomez-Pompa et al. 2003). Although full com
prehension of the successes and failures of the ancient Yucatec Maya goes far beyond the
objectives of this study, we think that the approach adopted in our research about con
temporary Yucatec Maya-landscape relationships may be useful for scholars exploringancient changes and continuities in the northern portion of the YP.
Following what has been proposed by other authors (Rappaport 1979; Descola
and Palsson 1996; Hornborg 1996), we think that the long-term permanence of the Yucatec
Maya in the YP can not be solely explained by ideological, cognitive or technological and
productive factors, but by a combination thereof. Thus, we identify the core of the resil
ience capacity of the Yucatec Maya in their k-c-p matrix. This matrix functions as an
assemblage whereby meanings, facts and practice are in dynamic feedback, and synergies
resulting from these dynamics have both spatial and temporal expression. There is a needfor more detailed and robust research that compares past with present, to fully acknowl
edge the "Maya puzzle", not just in the northern Yucatan Peninsula, but in the whole
Maya lowland.
AcknowledgementsWe are grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their critical and helpful com
ments on early versions of this paper. Thanks are also given to Jose Salvador Flores, Silvia
Teran, Patricia Colunga-GarciaMarin, Gilberto Avila-Gomez, Nicholas Dunning, Timo
thy Beach and Eduardo Garcia-Frapolli, for providing us with several publications. Special thanks are given to Pablo-Alarcon-Chaires for his permanent technical assistance and
elaboration of the graphics. Finally, we are indebted to Margaret Skutch and David
Robinson for revising the manuscript's English style. This paper is dedicated to Arturo
Gomez-Pompa and Alfredo Barrera-Marin (f), two pioneering contributors to the ethno
ecological study of the Yucatec Maya.
Notes:
*Atypical
soiltoposequence
of the northern Yucatan Peninsula includes:calcimorphicsoilswith good drainage on the higher ositions (Nt\ ltillos r mounds); calcimorphic
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Ethnoecology of the Yucatec Maya 33
soils with moderate drainage on gentle slopes (Chi wits); and hydromorphic soils with
poor drainage on the flat lowlands and bottom-level lands (Taax, planadas and aguadas).The soil mantle is
highlyvariable
along micro-catenas,recurrent at short
distances,thus
expressing high soil spatial heterogeneity.
tillages are located within the environmental adaptive regions (EAR) proposed by Dun
ning et al. 1998. Kosmos: Sp: sacred spaces. Ri: rituals. My: myths. Corpus: Cl: climate. So:soils. PI: plants. An: animals. Veg: vegetation. Praxis: Ag: agriculture. Hor: horticulture.
Hg: housegarden. Hu: hunting. Fi: fishing. Ext: extraction. Bee: beekeeping. Afo:
agroforestry. Ca: cattle raising.
3Landscapeunits: EK: Ek'lu'um soils
developedon kancabal or flatlands; EKWM: Ek'
lu'um soils developed on wits and/or mulu'ch, or hills and hummocks; PWM: Pus lu'umsoils developed on wits and mulu'ch; BWM: Box lu'um soils developed on wits and mulu'ch;
CHK: Chak lu'um soils developed on kancabal; TCHB: Chak lu'um or T^ekel box lu'um
soils developed on kancabal.
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