Lessons from the Past: El Pilar and the Maya Forest

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February 5, 2003,
University of Florida,
Location: TBA
8PM

Lecture Summary:

Regional settlement distribution, local community subsistence patterns, and individual household organization of the ancient Maya provide material evidence for the evolution of sustainable economies. Archaeological research on the Maya underscores the complexity of interrelationships between cultural systems and the environment over time. The ancient Maya economic landscape reflects a continuum of land use strategies, from densely settled, intensively-used uplands to unsettled swamps that represents a land use mosaic. As a representative major civic center, El Pilar's temples, plazas, and palaces reveal clues to the development of Maya civilization, and the examination of surrounding residential components exposes the nature of the ancient urban economic landscape. These patterns and interpretations have implications when we consider the future of the Maya forest and the people there today.