Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T23:43:22.692Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Soil Erosion, Slope Management, and Ancient Terracing in the Maya Lowlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Nicholas P. Dunning  and
Timothy Beach
Nicholas P. Dunning
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0131
Timothy Beach
Affiliation:
School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A puzzling aspect of Prehispanic soil erosion and sedimentation in the Maya Lowlands is the variation noted between different regions. In the Petexbatún region of Guatemala, recent investigations indicate great variation in sedimentation rates between watersheds of different sizes. In some places, soil erosion was slowed by stone terraces, possibly in conjunction with other conservation methods. A review of the surficial geology and other data on terraces from across the Maya Lowlands indicates that variations in the form and distribution of ancient agricultural terracing was probably the result of environmental variability and population pressure largely during the Late Classic period.

Un aspecto curioso de la erosión de tierra y la sedimentación prehispánica en las tierras bajas mayas es la variabilidad notada entre las diversas regiones. En la región de Petexbatún en Guatemala, las investigaciones recientes indican una gran variación en la tasa de sedimentación entre las cuencas de diferentes tamaños. En algunos lugares, la erosión del suelo fue reducida por medio del uso de terrazas de piedra, posiblemente en combinación con otros métodos de conservación. Se identificaron tres tipos de terrazas agrícolas en la región de Petexbatún: (1) terrazas con gradas en las pendientes de las colinas (algunas en forma de terrazas de caja y otras en forma de terraplenes de contorno), (2) grandes terrazas en la parte basal de las pendientes, y (3) diques en pequeños barrancos. Un examen de la geología superficial, además de los datos sobre las terrazas en las tierras bajas mayas, indica que las variaciones en la forma y la distribución de terrazas antiguas probablemente resultaron de la variabilidad del medio ambiente y de presiones demográficas que se presentaron en el periódo Clásico Tardío. En general, las regiones con pendientes graduales, roca madre horizontal, y con evidencia de asentamiento denso fueron áreas donde los mayas construyeron varios tipos de terrazas agrícolas. Por otro lado, las terrazas fueron raras en regiones con pendientes altas inclinadas, roca madre inclinada, o con asentamientos dispersos.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , March 1994 , pp. 51 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Abrams, E. M., and Rue, D. J. 1988 The Causes and Consequences of Deforestation Among the Prehistoric Maya. Human Ecology 16: 377–396.Google Scholar
Adams, R. E. W. 1980 Swamps, Canals, and the Location of Ancient Maya Cities. Antiquity 54:206–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, R. E. W. 1983 Ancient Land Use and Culture History in the Pasion River Region. In Prehistoric Settlement Patterns, edited by E. Vogt and R. Leventhal, pp. 319–336. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Adams, R. E. W., Brown, W. E. Jr., and Culbert, T. P. 1981 Radar Mapping, Archaeology, and Ancient Maya Land Use. Science 213:1457–1463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrera Rubio, A. 1987 Obras hidráulicas en la región Puuc, Yucatán, México. Boletin de la Escuela de Ciencias Antropológicas de la Universidad de Yucatán 87:3–19.Google Scholar
Bateson, J. H., and Hall, I. H. S. 1971 Revised Geologic Nomenclature for Pre-Cretaceous Rocks of British Honduras. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 55:529–530.Google Scholar
Beach, T. 1992 Estimating Soil Loss from Medium-Sized Drainage Basins. Physical Geography 13:206–224.Google Scholar
Bengston, R. L., and Sabbage, G. 1988 USLE P-factors for Subsurface Drainage in a Hot, Humid Climate. Paper No. 88–2122. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan.Google Scholar
Binford, M. 1983 Paleolimnology of the Peten Lake District, Guatemala: I. Erosion and Deposition of Inorganic Sediment as Inferred from Granulometry. Hydrobiología 103:199–203.Google Scholar
Binford, M. W., Brenner, M., Whitmore, T. J., Higuera-Gundy, A., and Deevey, E. S. 1987 Ecosystems, Paleoecology, and Human Disturbance in Subtropical and Tropical America. Quaternary Science Review 6:115–128.Google Scholar
Brenner, M., Leyden, B., and Binford, M. W. 1990 Recent Sedimentary Histories of Shallow Lakes in the Guatemalan Savannas. Journal of Paleolimnology 4:239–252.Google Scholar
Chase, A. F., and Chase, D. Z. 1987 Investigations at the Classic Maya City ofCaracol, Belize: 1985–1987. Monograph No. 3. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Cooke, C. W. 1931 Why the Mayan Cities of the Peten District, Guatemala were Abandoned. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 21:283–287.Google Scholar
Cooke, C. W. 1933 Science Service Radio Talks: A Possible Solution of a Mayan Mystery. Scientific Monthly 12:362–365.Google Scholar
Cooley, K. R., and Williams, J. R. 1985 Applicability of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Modified USLE to Hawaii. In Soil Erosion and Conservation, edited by S. El Swaify and W. Moldenhauer, pp. 509–522. Soil Conservation Society of America, Ankeny, Iowa.Google Scholar
Coultas, C. L., Collins, M. E., and Chase, A. F. 1993 The Effect of Mayan Agriculture on Terraced Soils of Caracol, Belize. In Proceedings of the First International Pedo-Archaeology Conference, edited by J. E. Foss, M. E. Timpson, and M. E. Morris. Special Publication No. 93–4. Agricultural Experimentation Station, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in press.Google Scholar
Cowgill, U. M., and Hutchinson, G. E. 1963 El Bajo de Santa Fe. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 53(7):1–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahlin, B. H., Foss, J. E., and Chambers, M. E. 1980 Project Akalches. In El Mirador, Peten, Guatemala: An Interim Report, edited by R. Matheny, pp. 37–58. Publication No. 45. New World Archaeological Foundation, Provo, Utah.Google Scholar
Deevey, E. S., Rice, D. S., Rice, P. M., Vaughan, H. H., Brenner, M., and Flannery, M. S. 1979 Mayan Urbanism: Impact on a Tropical Karst Environment. Science 206:298–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Demarest, A. A., and Dunning, N. P. 1990 Ecología y guerra en la región de la Pasión. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatún, Informe Preliminar #2, Segunda Temporada 1990, edited by A. A. Demarest and S. D. Houston, pp. 595–606. Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Demarest, A., Valdes, J. A., Inomata, T., Palka, J., Escobedo, H., Brady, J., Dunning, N., Killion, T., Foias, A., Beekman, C., Chinchilla, O., Chatham, R., Verhagen, I., Stiver, L., and Morgan, K. 1991 Conclusiones preliminares e interpretaciones de la Temporada de Campo 1991 del Proyecto Arqueo lógico Petexbatún. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatún, Informe Preliminar #3, Tercera Temporada 1991, edited by A. Demarest, pp. 896–924. Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Donkin, R. 1979 Agricultural Terracing in the Aboriginal New World. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology No. 56. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Doolittle, W. E. 1984 Agricultural Change as an Incremental Process. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 74:124–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doolittle, W. E. 1990 Terrace Origins: Hypotheses and Research Strategies. Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers 16:94–97.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P. 1989 Archaeological Investigations at Sayil, Yucatan, Mexico: Intersite Reconnaissance and Soil Studies During the 1987 Field Season. Anthropological Papers No. 2. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P. 1990 Prehispanic Settlement Patterns of the Puuc Region, Yucatan, Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P. 1991a El uso prehispánico de la tierra y la historia cultural de la región del Río de la Pasión. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatún, Informe #3, Tercera Temporada 1991, edited by A. A. Demarest, pp. 887–895. Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P. 1991b Soils and Settlement in the Sayil Valley: A Preliminary Assessment. In The Ancient Maya City of Sayil: The Mapping of a Puuc Region Center, edited by J. A. Sabloff and G. Tourtellot, pp. 20–27. Publication No. 60. Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P. 1992 Lords of the Hills: Ancient Maya Settlement of the Puuc Region, Yucatan, Mexico. Prehistory Press, Madison.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P. 1994 Coming Together at the Temple Mountain: Environment, Subsistence, and the Emergence of Maya States. In The Emergence of Lowland Maya Civilization: The Transition from Preclassic to Classic, edited by N. Grube. Acta Mesoamericana 8. Verlag Von Fleming, Berlin, in press.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P., and Beach, T. P. 1992 Soil Erosion, Slope Management, and Ancient Terracing in the Maya Lowlands. Paper presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P., Rue, D., and Beach, T. 1991 Ecología y patrón de asentamiento en la región de Petexbatún: Resultos preliminares de la Temporada 1991. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatún, Informe #3, Tercera Temporada 1991, edited by A. A. Demarest, pp. 829–847. Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P., Secaira, E., and Demarest, A. A. 1992 The Petexbatun Region and the Peten: A Legacy of Human Impact. Submitted to U.S.A.I.D., Guatemala City. Copies available from the senior author.Google Scholar
Dunning, N. P., Paiz Díez, L. E., Beach, T., and Nicholas, J. 1993 Investigaciones de terrazas agrícolas antiguas durante la Temporada 1993. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatún, Informe Preliminar #5, Quinta Temporada 1993, edited by J. A. Valdés, A. Foias, T. Inomata, H. Escobedo, and A. A. Demarest, pp. 171–182. Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Eaton, J. D. 1975 Ancient Agricultural Farmsteads in the Rio Bee Region of Yucatan. In Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 27, pp. 56–82. University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Fedick, S. L. 1994 Ancient Maya Agricultural Terracing in the Upper Belize River Area: Computer-Aided Modeling and the Results of Initial Field Investigations. Ancient Mesoamerica 5:107–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, G. R. 1982 Modeling the Erosion Process. In Hydrologic Modeling in Small Watersheds, edited by C. T. Haan, H. P. Johnson, and D. L. Brackensiek, pp. 297–382. MonographNo. 5. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan.Google Scholar
Foster, G. R., and Highfill, R. E. 1983 Effect of Terraces on Soil Loss: USLE P Factor Values for Terraces. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 38:48–51.Google Scholar
Harrison, P. D. 1977 The Rise of the Bajos and the Fall of the Maya. In Social Process in Maya Prehistory, edited by N. Hammond, pp. 469–508. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Healy, P. F. 1983 An Ancient Maya Dam in Cayo District, Belize. Journal of Field Archaeology 10:147–154.Google Scholar
Healy, P. F., van Waarden, C., and Anderson, T. J. 1980 Nueva evidencia de antiguas terrazas mayas en Belice. América Indígena 40:773–796.Google Scholar
Healy, P. F., Lambert, J. D. H., Arnason, J. T., and Hebda, R. J. 1983 Caracol, Belize: Evidence of Ancient Maya Agricultural Terraces. Journal of Field Archaeology 10: 397–410.Google Scholar
Houston, S., Chatham, R., Chinchilla, O., Ponciano, E., and Wright, L. 1990 Mapeo y sodeos en Tamarandito. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatún, Informe Preliminar #2, Segunda Temporada 1990, edited by A. A. Demarest and S. D. Houston, pp. 369–392. Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Jacob, J. S. 1992 The Agroecological Evolution of Cobweb Swamp, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station.Google Scholar
Johnson, W. C. 1983 Further Comments on Raised Fields. In Pulltrouser Swamp: Ancient Maya Habitat, Agriculture, and Settlement in Northern Belize, edited by B. L. Turner II and P. D. Harrison, pp. 91–93. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Killion, T. W., and Dunning, N. P. 1992 Land Use, Land Holding, and War Among the Late Classic Maya: A Study of Prehistoric Wall Systems on the Petexbatun Escarpment, Peten, Guatemala. Paper presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Killion, T. W., Sabloff, J., Tourtellot, G., and Dunning, N. 1989 Intensive Surface Collection of Residential Clusters at Terminal Classic Sayil, Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology 18:273–294.Google Scholar
Killion, T. W., Verhagen, I., van Tuerenhout, D., Triadan, D., Hamerlynck, L., McDermott, M., and Genoves, J. 1991 Reporte de la Temporada 1991 del recorrido arqueológico intersitio de Petexbatún. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatún, Informe #3, Tercera Temporada 1991, edited by A. A. Demarest, pp. 588–645. Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Kreznor, W. R., Olson, K. R., and Johnson, D. L. 1992 Field Evaluation of Methods to Estimate Soil Erosion. Soil Science 153:69–81.Google Scholar
Lal, R. 1990 Soil Erosion in the Tropics: Principles and Management. McGraw-Hill, New York.Google Scholar
Lal, R., Lawson, T. L., and Anastase, A. H. 1980 Erosivity of Tropical Rains. In Assessment of Erosion, edited by M. deBoodt and D. Gabriel, pp. 143–151. Wiley, Chichester, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Lloyd, J. J., and Dengo, G. 1960 Posibilidades petrolíferas de la cuenca del Petén. Boletín de la Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Guatemala 2(1):3–11.Google Scholar
López Ramos, E. 1973 Estudio geológico de la península de Yucatán. Boletín de la Asociación Mexicana de Geólogos Petroleros 23:23–76.Google Scholar
López Ramos, E. 1983 Geología general: Geología de México. 2a. Tomo III. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F. Google Scholar
Lugo Lopez, M. A. 1982 K Values of the Soils of Puerto Rico. Journal of Agriculture 66:311–312.Google Scholar
Lundell, C. L. 1940 The 1936 Michigan-Carnegie Botanical Expedition to British Honduras. Botany of the Maya Area Miscellaneous Paper No. 14. Publication No. 522. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Olson, G. W. 1982 Effects of Activities of the Ancient Maya upon Some of the Soils in Central America. Mexicon 4: 20–22.Google Scholar
Ower, L. H. 1927 Features of British Honduras. Geographical Journal 70:372–386.Google Scholar
Phillips, J. D. 1991 Fluvial Sediment Budgets of the North Carolina Piedmont. Geomorphology 4:231–241.Google Scholar
Pohl, M. D., Bloom, P. R., and Pope, K. O. 1990 Interpretation of Wetland Farming in Northern Belize: Excavations at San Antonio, Rio Hondo. In Ancient Maya Wetland Agriculture: Excavations on Albion Island, Northern Belize, edited by M. D. Pohl, pp. 187–254. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.Google Scholar
Pope, K. O., and Dahlin, B. H. 1989 Ancient Maya Wetland Agriculture: New Insights from Ecology and Remote Sensing Research. Journal of Field Archaeology 16:87–106.Google Scholar
Renard, K. G., Foster, G. R., Weesies, G. A., and McCool, D. K. 1991 Predicting Soil Erosion by Water: A Guide to Conservation Planning with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)[dmft 8/91]. Computerized update of Handbook No. 537. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Renard, K. G., Foster, G. R., Weesies, G. A., and Porter, J. P. 1991 RUSLE: Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 48:30–33.Google Scholar
Rice, D. S. 1978 Population Growth and Subsistence Alternatives in a Tropical Lacustrine Environment. In Pre-His-panic Maya Agriculture, edited by P. D. Harrison and B. L. Turner II, pp. 301–344. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Rice, D. S. 1991 Paleolimnological Analyses in the Central Peten, Guatemala. Paper Presented at the Conference on Ancient Maya Agriculture and Biological Resource Management, Riverside, California.Google Scholar
Rice, D. S. 1993 Eighth Century Physical Geography, Environment, and Natural Resources in the Maya Lowlands. In New Perspectives on Classic Maya Civilization: Lowland Societies in the Eighth Century A.D., edited by J. A. Sabloff and J. Henderson, pp. 11–63. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Rice, D. S., and Rice, P. M. 1984 Lessons from the Maya. Latin American Research Review 19:203–215.Google Scholar
Rice, D. S., Rice, P. M., and Deevey, E. S. 1985 Paradise Lost: Classic Maya Impact on a Lacustrine Environment. In Prehistoric Lowland Maya Environment and Subsistence Economy, edited by M. Pohl, pp. 91–105. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 77. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Ricketson, O. G. Jr. 1937 Uaxactun, Guatemala: Group E—1926–1931. Publication No. 477. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Robles Castellanos, F., and Andrews, A. P. 1986 A Review and Synthesis of Recent Postclassic Archaeology of Northern Yucatan. In Late Lowland Maya Civilization: Classic to Postclassic, edited by Jeremy Sabloff and E. Wyllys Andrews V, pp. 53–98. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Rue, D. J. 1987 Early Agriculture and Early Postclassic Occupation in Western Honduras. Nature 326:285–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scarborough, V. L. 1993 Water Management in the Southern Maya Lowlands: An Accretive Model for the Engineered Landscape. In Prehispanic Water Management Systems, edited by V. L. Scarborough and B. L. Isaac, pp. 17–69. Research in Economic Anthropology, supplement 7. JAI Press, Greenwich, Connecticut.Google Scholar
Scarborough, V. L., and Gallopin, G. G. 1991 A Water Storage Adaptation in the Maya Lowlands. Science 252:658–662.Google Scholar
Scarborough, V. L., Becher, M., Baker, J., Harris, G., and Hensz, J. D., with an appendix by Dunning, N. P. 1992 Water Management Studies at La Milpa, Belize. Submitted to the National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. Copies available from the senior author.Google Scholar
Schmidt, P. J. 1981 La productión agrícola prehistórica de los mayas. Yucatán: Historia y Economía 4(23):38–54.Google Scholar
Sluyter, A., and Siemens, A. H. 1992 Vestiges of Prehispanic, Sloping-Field Terraces on the Piedmont of Central Veracruz, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 3:148–160.Google Scholar
Smith, A. L. 1950 Uaxactun, Guatemala: Excavations of 1931–1937. Publication No. 588. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Spencer, J. E., and Hale, G. A. 1961 The Origin, Nature, and Distribution of Agricultural Terracing. Pacific Viewpoint 2:1–40.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. E. S. 1931 Archaeological Investigations in the Southern Cayo District, British Honduras. Anthropological Series 17(3). Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.Google Scholar
Tourtellot, G. 1988 Excavations at Seibal, Department of Peten, Guatemala. Peripheral Survey and Excavation: Settlement and Community Patterns. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 16. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Turner, B. L. II 1974 Prehistoric Intensive Agriculture in the Mayan Lowlands. Science 185:118–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turner, B. L. II 1978 Ancient Agricultural Land Use in the Central Lowlands. In Pre-Hispanic Maya Agriculture, edited by P. D. Harrison and B. L. Turner II, pp. 163–183. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Turner, B. L. II 1979 Prehispanic Maya Terracing in the Central Maya Lowlands: Problems of Agricultural Intensification. In Maya Archaeology and Ethnohistory, edited by N. Hammond and G. R. Willey, pp. 103–115. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Turner, B. L. II 1983a Once Beneath the Forest: Prehistoric Terracing in the Rio Bee Region of the Maya Lowlands. Westview, Boulder, Colorado.Google Scholar
Turner, B. L. II 1983b Comparison of Agrotechnologies in the Basin of Mexico and the Central Maya Lowlands: Formative to the Classic Maya Collapse. In Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Mesoamerican Highland–Lowland Interaction, edited by A. G. Miller, pp. 13–45. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Turner, B. L. II, and Johnson, W. C. 1979 An Ancient Maya Check-Dam in the Copan Valley. American Antiquity 44:299–305.Google Scholar
Viniegra, O. F. 1971 Age and Evolution of Salt Basins in Southeastern Mexico. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 55:478–494.Google Scholar
Vinson, G. L. 1962 Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary Stratigraphy of Guatemala. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 46:425–456.Google Scholar
Weyl, R. 1980 Geology of Central America, 2nd ed. Gebruder Borntraeger, Berlin.Google Scholar
Wilken, G. C. 1987 Good Farmers: Traditional Agricultural Resource Management in Mexico and Central America. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Williams, L. S. 1990 Agricultural Terrace Evolution in Latin America. Yearbook of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers 16:82–93.Google Scholar
Wingard, J. D. 1992 The Role of Soils in the Development and Collapse of Classic Maya Civilization at Copan, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, College Park.Google Scholar
Wischmeier, W. H. 1976 Use and Misuse of the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 31:5–9.Google Scholar
Woods, W. I., and Holley, G. R. 1992 Prehistoric Terraces in the Rio Mopan Drainage, Cayo District, Belize. Paper presented at the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers, Santo Domingo.Google Scholar
Wright, A. C. S., Romney, D. H., Arbuckle, R. H., and Vial, V. E. 1959 Land in British Honduras: Report of the British Honduras Land Use Survey Team. Colonial Research Report No. 24. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar