Investigating the socio-economic and socio-political organization of intensive agricultural production at the ancient Maya community of Minanha, Belize

This thesis presents the results of an investigation into the socio-economic and socio-political organization of intensive agricultural production at the ancient Maya centre of Minanha. The ruins of this small city-state, located in the rugged north Vaca Plateau of west-central Belize, are surrounded by dense, large-scale, and orderly agricultural terracing. This study sought to assess the degree of labour organization involved in the creation of this ancient agricultural landscape by investigating the spatial patterning of terracing and settlement, terrace construction, and the chronological development of a 5 ha area containing several ancient farmsteads. Excavations indicate that terrace construction was heavily influenced by the step-like structure of the limestones making up the Vaca Plateau, suggesting lower labour inputs than had previously been attributed to terracing of this type from elsewhere in the lowlands. This evidence is interpreted to indicate that the construction of terracing at Minanha need not have required the direct involvement of state-level initiatives in the intensification of agricultural production. Furthermore, it is argued that variability in terrace and residential construction are likely indicative of the organization of labour at the level of individual farming households or local corporate groups, operating within a city-state economy.;Keywords. ancient Maya, socio-economic and socio-political organization of agricultural production, agricultural terracing, agricultural intensification, ancient agricultural landscape, settlement patterning.