The document discusses the etnoecology of the Yucatec Maya people. It describes how over 5,000 years of human presence has shaped the landscape through systems of socioecological management. The Maya have developed a sophisticated understanding of the environment through classification systems of soils, plants, and animals. They practice resilient multiple resource management through small-scale agriculture and extraction from diverse forest ecosystems. Their worldview sees the earth as a living entity to care for through rituals and practices aimed at maintaining balance and equilibrium between humans and nature.

1. Etnoecology of Yucatec Maya

2. Systems
Ecosystems
Socioecosistems
 The landscape register the history of social and natural
events. This events determinates the estructure and
function of the landscape, that is why an etnoecological
aproch is usful.

3. Takes reality as an entity formed by
landscapes.
All of them are product of the forces of
nature and lastly of human influence.
 200,000 years of human precence have impact so hardly the
landscape that is very dificult to find virgin nature if not far from
human influnce or of dificult acces .

4. Interdiciplinary study of nature
 An external analysis of human influence on nature
Kosmos
belif and rituals
Praxis
Actions
Corpus
Set of Knowledge
K-C-P
Interpretation Action

5. belive
uses
Knowledge
Intelectual apropiation
Material Apropiation
Resarcher Landscape
 From their perspective or cosmovision individuals build a representation of the landscape and
at the same time they made an interpretation of the stage in funtion of their objects, facts and
proces, in other words of their knowledge.

6.  Semi undulating topography, no
surface water streams and
wetlands north south, marked
seasonality, variety of soils.
 Human footprint estimated at over
5000 years of civilization records
of over 3000 years. Processes of
domestication and domesticated
for 5400 years.
 High environmental heterogeneity,
often with high population density
(depending where)

7. Mega diverse Ecosystem
 At local and regional levels
Everyday environmental uncertainty
• Hurricanes, floods, water availability
Economic uncertainty
 Subject to local and international markets and the use
and aviability of resorces

8. ¿How a culture of 3000 years have prevail
in such geophysic and climatic conditions?
Roza, Tumba, Quema (Slash, burn, tumb):
limited productivity (Harrison y Turner
1978), Vs landscape managment (Feddick
1996, Gomez-pompa 2003)

9. Subsitence of more than 3000 years of
mayas in the Yucatan peninsula
demostrates they have learn to use and
administrates their resources in an eficient
way.

10. Sofisticated knowledge of nature
Clasiffication of: Soil, landscape, hidrolgy,
plants, animals and sucetional states of the
forest regeneration
Ecological managment in space and time in
a mosaic of patches

13.  Great diferences form north to south acording to
humidity
 Big floristic richness (2400 to 3000 species estimated)
 75-80% in the mexican portion
 Just one study reports comertial use or knowledge
of 920 and 826 morfo species in Cobá and
Chuhuhub.
 “Kul” The Yucatec Maya taxonomy uses
 16 clasification categories
 Diferences betwen morfological characters and
 Simbolic cualities (color)

14. Melipona beechi

15.  Milpa
 Familiar farm
 Garden hunt and hervest
 Fishing
 Production of coal
 Crafts
 Scientific help and ecoturisim.

16. This strucuture lays on ecological limitation, natural and external forces like international
economy, information and culture in each home or comunity.

17. Many mayas use a multiple natural resurce
managment
• This alows an economy based on autosubsistnce
with many “extras” used for comertial purpse.
We can identify at least 6 components
 “La milpa” and other agricolar systems
 The familiar small farm
 Secondary forest (growing)
 Mature forest
 Managed Forest
 Water bodys

18.  La milpa and other agricultural systems use
• 20 to 50 different plant species
• 10 to 12 hunted animals
• 100 to 250 extraction and recolection
• If we put togather all the species just from one
comunity (construction, tools, apiculture, others) just in
one community we have from
• 300 to 500 for comunity

19. The families satify their needs for
energíe, food and matirials thanks to
• This usefull Biodiversity from
• The use and extraction from local family gardens
and from rainforest conserved or in recuperation

22. 2 activities have almost the totality from
the work investedm the Milpa and farming.
In the return of money 5 activities have
70% of the income La milpa, payed
work, ecoturism, apiculture and artcraft
The multiple use is fundamental

24. Time and space are sacred. The cosmic tree –center of the world-. Each corner is
identified witha moment of the day, a color, a direction.

25. Rituales
Hetz Lu´um
Loh Lu´um

26. Key Element for unterstand Maya
Cosmovision
 Lu´um: Soil, Earth, Planet, territory,
Landscape, nature, totality of the world.

27. Tiene connotación multidimensional
 Uno pagano, utilitario, referente a la casa, la salud
 Tierra (espacio bi dimensional)
 Suelo (cuerpo tridimensional)
 Dominio intangible sagrado
Santo Lu´um es el espíritu de la tierra
 En el se expresa el sincretismo indígena, colonial y moderno

28. Earth as a living entity…
…should be cared and feed (task made by humans
and supernatural beings: Aluxes, the administrators
of natural phenomena)
 … Has a direct relation with Health: individual, of the
comunity and of the enviroment.

29.  Rituals mantein the material and symbolic
balance between scarcity and abundancem
weeknes and strenght.
 They exsist at least 6 diferent types of
modern ritual today
 Loh lu´um Healing or waking up the earth
 Hetz lu´um Feeding the earth
 Hanli k´ol Feeding the milpa
 Loh corral Heal domestic animals
 Saká Thanks to the winds
 Chac-chac Ask for rain

30. Ask permition Hetz lu´um
• Individual, familiar or group of families
Ritualperformed before establishing a new farm
area, house or young families zone for not “disturbe
the balance of the world”
Restore order Loh lu´um
• Made in order to renovate or reinforce vs evil foces
wich Hetz lu´um was not able to control or in an non
productive farm or milpa. Is “Kéex”. Re centring
,“restore, save, redee”

31.  The perpetual search for health or equilibrium
was a constant and fundamental thing in
Mayan cosmovision
 Ilumina todas las practicas materiales y
simbólicas y opera como organizador de la
producción y cultura material e inmaterial de
los mayas yucatecos
 Es resultado del trabajo de los seres
humanos, las deidades y Santo Lu´um

32. Holstic Vision, sacred logic. Complex managment of a patched landscape.

33. Kosmos
 Concept of the universe, Rituals
Corpus
 Knowledge: plants, animals, soils, landscape
Praxis
 Ways of resourse use in the real world.

34. A tendency to certain stable state in nature
 Mayas profit from the diferent sucetional states of
rainforest in space and time and with respect
2 things build recilence in Mayas Comunities
 The Concept of health (human, animals, nature)
 A flaxible apropation way to use space and resorces (self
consume, economic profit) in a selective way depending
circunstances.

35.  This is based on a fine perception of environment
and human interaction in at least 4 levels
 Biologic: knowledge of species
 Practic: domesticated species
 Ecologic : masses of vegetation managment
 Geografic: understand and use of landscape
• This management involves multiscale (spatio-
temporal) actions that maintains and enhances
relationships in an abb socio-ecological system

36.  Resilience is achieved by maintaining multiple
use strategy guided by two goals:
• Ensure self subsistence (materials, energy, food)
• Take advantage of niche markets and potential use
 With optimisation in space and time.

37. The multiple-use strategy (praxis) actually acquires
a set of explicit or implicit rules based on the body
of knowledge (corpus) and sacred ecology
(kosmos) that establishes subjective relationships
with nature entities and seeks to maintain balance
in the different scales of the human, natural and
sacred.