Under the direction of Dr. Wendy Ashmore, Mr. L. Theodore Neff will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will continue his examination of terraces associated with the Mayan site of Xunantunich which is located in lowland tropical west-central Belize. The site is large - it covers an area exceeding 10 km. in maximum diameter - and was occupied during the height of Classic Mayan development. Therefore it serves as an appropriate location to study how the Mayans integrated thousands of individuals into highly organized societies which sustained themselves in a relatively unproductive environments. In recent years archaeologists have come to recognize that Mayan peoples developed complex agricultural systems significantly different from the slash and burn technique which is applied in many lowland areas today. Researchers have focused particular attention on widespread series of raised fields which were formed by mounding earth in swampy waterlogged environments. Less attention has been paid to other approaches and Mr. Neff will examine a terracing system which was widely used at Xunantunich and is present at other Mayan sites as well. In particular he is interested in the articulation between agriculture and social organization and he has noted correlations between different arrangements of terraces and the number of associated house mounds. He believes that it is possible to reconstruct the social organization at the site and determine the extent to which variations in group organization affected specific agricultural practices. To accomplish this he needs first to understand more about the terraces themselves and this award will allow him to collect the necessary information. He will conduct test and then larger scale excavation in a carefully selected number of terraces. On this basis he hopes to determine when in the site's history they were built, how they were constructed and what crops were grown on them. This requires careful stratigraphic excavation and the analysis of soil, cultural and plant remains. Radiocarbon dates will also be obtained. The Mayan peoples developed a complex society using technologically simple means in environmental contexts which today can support only low population densities. Mr. Neff's research will provide additional insight into the adaptations which allowed this success. He will collect data of interest to many archaeologists and the project will assist in training a promising young scientist.
