Favored Trees of the Maya Milpa Forest Garden Cycle

Abstract

Comparisons of Maya forest gardens, the economic botany of the Maya forest, and identifications of plant remains in archaeological contexts converge on the value of the Maya forest as the reflection of the selective favoring of useful plants over time and across space. We have evaluated trees conserved in Maya milpas and present here an annotated list of significant categories of uses that transcend the ordinary, and highlight the extraordinary appreciation of plants and their role in the historical and cultural ecology of land use. Recognition of land cover significance, biodiversity, water conservation, erosion management, soil fertility principles, animal habitat essentials, and support for communities are all entangled with the role of plants. With an example of 160 confirmed trees favored in Maya milpa agricultural fields, we provide a window into economic values that dominate the Maya forest.