Land and Labor, Classic Maya Terraced Agriculture: An investigation of the settlement ecology and intensive agricultural landscape of Caracol, Belize

This study details the results of survey and excavation of settlement and intensive agricultural terracing at the site of Caracol, Belize. Caracol, situated in the heart of the Maya lowlands in western Belize was one of the largest and most politically active cities in the Ancient Maya world. A greater than 400 year political history is recorded in the ancient monuments, detailing wars, conflict, and the births and deaths of rulers. Guided by this history, this study investigates the intensive agricultural landscape of Caracol in an effort to better understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of population pressure and intensive agriculture throughout the classic period (AD 250 - 750). By relying on traditional archaeological survey and excavation, Geographic Information Systems and computer simulation, the study also evaluates the role of massive landscape transformations in the growth and eventual collapse of Caracol. Read more