The Ancient Art of the Maya Forest Garden

Tropical forests are regularly dismissed as fragile landscapes, inadequate for sustaining large populations without damaging impacts. Yet long-surviving Indigenous art of land use practices, involving sophisticated understandings of natural regeneration, forest ecology, and the rewards of managing land cover, demonstrate remarkable abilities in the tropical latitudes.

In this free public lecture presented by the Santa Barbara County Archaeological Society, Anabel Ford, Ph.D., will draw on her research studying how people in the tropics of Mesoamerica exhibit the art of enduring practices based on honed skills, trial and error, creative strategies, and local methods that supported all the daily needs of food and shelter. The architecture and the forest itself are the rich evidence of the Maya milpa-forest-garden. This is a case worthy of discussion of the living art embedded in traditional ecological knowledge that provided the foundation of the ancient Maya civilization.

Dr. Ford is president of the Maya Forest Alliance: Exploring Solutions Past and director of UCSB’s Mesoamerican Research Center.

No tickets or reservations required, but as this venue has limited space, it is recommended to arrive a little early to ensure a seat. For questions about the Santa Barbara County Archaeological Society or the upcoming meetings, please contact SBCAS President Glenn Russell, Ph.D., by email.

Artwork by Daniel Bayona