ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE PROJECT AREA

_______Archaeological research in the central Maya lowlands has traditionally focused on the grandiose at the expense of the more mundane. However, recent research in the region has gone a long way to correct this bias (Bullard 1960; Ford 1981, 1985, 1986; Fry 1969; Haviland 1963; Puleston 1973; Rice 1976; Webster and Gonlin 1988; see also Wilk and Ashmore 1988). Many of these and other studies have pointed to the strong relationship between the natural environment and ancient Maya settlement. From the earliest settlement pattern research in the area (Bullard 1960), the importance of well-drained uplands to the ancient Maya was recognized. More detailed local studies (Fedick 1988a, 1989) and regional comparisons (Fedick and Ford 1990) have demonstrated that the relationship is a significant one and correlates directly with the agricultural capability of the land resources. The small amount of data collected during our field work indicates that this model for ancient Maya economy of the central lowlands is appropriate for developing expectations for settlement locations and densities in the Rio Bravo Conservation Area. This model assumes the ancient Maya had a detailed knowledge of their resources and used them optimally. The relationship of settlement to land resources should change with population fluctuations (either growth or decline), and these changes should be detectable in the archaeological record.

_______The Rio Bravo Conservation Area represents a unique case because it contains the full range of resource variability found within the entire central Maya lowlands. The current land resource data suggest that the overall settlement densities will be relatively high, due to the high proportion of well-drained uplands. The distribution of the highest settlement densities and most complex residential and public architecture should be concentrated in the Hills Subregion, the very area where La Milpa is situated. Since there is such a high proportion of well-drained uplands in the Hill subregion, the density of centers could be higher than other areas (see Ford 1986). Depending on the land resource distribution, there should be secondary centers in the area immediately surrounding the major center of La Milpa, but there could be some centers which have more equal relations with La Milpa. Understanding size, extent, construction sequences, and settlement densities among centers in the area will begin to address this problem.

_______Settlement densities in the Hills Subregion beyond the centers will vary widely, however, according to the extremes of the slopes (compare the differences in density and settlement configuration between Figure 5 and 6). In addition, the earliest settlement in the area is expected the Hills Subregion, due to the high proportion of excellent land resources for early pioneering farmers. This could mean that centers were also established early on in Maya prehistory.

_______Low settlement densities and simpler residential unit compositions should be most characteristic of the sites in the Lowlands Subregion, as there are large expanses of land which are not suitable for residential occupation at all. Pockets of uplands and accessible areas adjacent to riverine-associated swamps should experience settlement after the Hills Subregion was initially settled. Those scattered areas of well-drained uplands in this subregion should contain concentrations of Late Classic settlement. These uplands should be the location of local centers which may be tied into a subregional hierarchy or into a major center, such as La Milpa. Also, settlements would be expected where intensive field systems can be securely identified. Such intensive field systems of the riverine-associated swamps in the Lowlands Subregion would be expected to have later occupations than the well-drained uplands of both the Lowlands and Hills Subregion because they require the greatest labor investment to develop.

_______The two distinctly different environmental zones represented by the Hills Subregion and the Lowlands Subregion comprise a natural laboratory for the study of prehistoric Maya cultural ecology and economic organization, and provide a prime opportunity to address research questions that are at the forefront of current Maya studies (see Ashmore 1981). In establishing the locations suitable for ancient Maya residential settlement, criteria of drainage, fertility, workability, slope, and area are critical. Well-drained uplands of moderate relief are preferred over zones of slight or sharp relief for residential settlement and are the locations of most centers. Uplands zone of slight relief will experience drainage problems and zones of sharp relief will suffer erosion. Slow drained lowlands figure as secondary resources and will be used when there is competition for the most desirable lands. Swamp zones will be used only as a last resort when other resources are all in use. Combining precise soil data (see Appendix I) and topographic data will produce a cultural resource picture which, when tested, will be an effective management tool. Such coordinated, complementary research within these two subregions of the Rio Bravo Conservation Area will not only provide essential data for a management program but will contribute significantly to our understanding of prehistoric Maya development.