Ancient Manioc Agriculture South of the Ceren Village, El Salvador

Bibliographic Data

ID4374690
AuthorsPayson Sheets (0000-0001-6900-3355, University of Colorado Boulder, corresponding author), David Lentz, David L Lentz (0000-0003-0516-7654, University of Cincinnati), Dolores R Piperno (0000-0002-0584-3133, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), Dolores Piperno, John G Jones (0000-0001-8271-0038, Washington State University), John Jones, Christine Dixon (0000-0002-5078-5075, University of Colorado Boulder), George Maloof (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad), Angela Hood, A E M Hood (University of Cincinnati)
Year2012
Volume23
Issue3
Pages259-281
Publication date2012-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.7183/1045-6635.23.3.259
OpenAlexW2069921962
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited46

The role of seed crops in the Maya diet is well understood. The role of root crops in the ancient Maya diet has been controversial, with some scholars suggesting they were staples, and others arguing they were not cultivated at all. Research in the 1990s found occasional manioc plants in kitchen gardens within the Classic period Cerén village, leading to the interpretation that manioc did contribute to the diet, but was not a staple. Recent research outside the village encountered sophisticated raised-bed monocropping of manioc over an extensive area. This area was harvested essentially all at once, about a week prior to the eruption. An estimated ten tons of tubers were harvested. The various uses of manioc include consumption as food, exchange with other settlements, fermentation, drying and storage as a powder, and as an adhesive. It is possible that many or all these alternatives were being followed. At Cerén manioc was a staple, not just an occasional adjunct to the diet. Because Cerén is toward the wet end of the ideal range for manioc cultivation, other areas of the Neotropics that receive less than 1,700 mm of precipitation may be more suitable for manioc cultivation than Cerén

Agriculture · Agroforestry · Archaeology · Biology · Cropping · Geography · Maya · Monocropping · Staple food · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Latin American history and culture

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