Bogged Down in the Corn Fields: The Importance of Bajo Soils in Ancient Maize Production at Tikal, Guatemala.

In the Maya area of Mesoamerica maize has been a staple food in modern traditional diets, as it was in ancient times.  Recent evidence has demonstrated that the Classic Maya of Tikal, Guatemala planted corn (Zea Mays) on many of the foot and toe slopes near their settlements.  Many of the strongest isotopic signatures of ancient C4 vegetations were discovered along the edges of the low lying seasonal wetlands known as bajos.  The vegetative history of soils of the Maya lowlands is preserved in stable carbon isotopes of the soil organic matter.  Delta 13-C analysis techniques were used to determine areas of ancient C4 vegetation associated with maize agriculture against a background of C3 forest vegetation that has prevailed in the area since the abandonment about 900 AD.  With annual wet and dry seasons in the Tikal area, soil water availability of the bajo margins would constitute an optimal agronomic resource for ancient Maya maize agriculture.   Sixteen soil profiles from various bajo margins and upland depressions in the Tikal National Park were collected to gain a better understanding of the ancient agricultural resources of the Maya lowlands.