| Summary: | Prehispanic planting platforms and canals were examined across a set of
transects in the Mandinga wetland in Central Veracruz, Mexico. In this relatively
large complex of vestiges of ancient wetland agriculture, it was possible to test
various propositions regarding water sources, degree and means of water control,
and purpose of canals and platforms. The field investigation focussed on
hydrological dynamics, what water management practices were attained, and
whether the purpose of canals changed over time. The findings were used as
indications of the process and strategies of agricultural intensification.
Original and abandoned elevations of canals and platforms were
established using soil stratigraphic data from cores and with corroborating data
from pollen analysis; chronology was attempted by radiocarbon dating. The
results show that initially water from seasonal inundation and possibly springs
was stored within the wetland. Retention of water could have been realized by
enhancing existing depressions, creating reversed gradients in the canals, and
utilizing small dams. These multiple management strategies facilitated cultivation
in a dynamic hydrological regime, however, with time, uneven sedimentation in
the wetland changed the preconditions for these strategies. Consequently, the
testing suggests that models of water management need to incorporate flexibility
and complexity, thereby increasing their capacity to explain relationships and
incorporate variations.
In Mandinga the hydrological complexity and variations seem to have prevented the reaping of a high yield from all platforms in every year, indicating
that the intensity of the production system did not reside in high outputs. Instead,
the strength seems to have been in the flexible management practices. When
combined with other productive activities, wetland agriculture represented one
component in an intensification process that was based on multiple strategies. === Arts, Faculty of === Geography, Department of === Graduate
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