Maya Settlement Patterns and Land Use in Buena Vista, Cozumel, México

Summary and Conclusion

The Buena Vista 2003 archaeological project focused in an area of 4 km² around the central 7 ha platform of the site. I mapped archaeological and physical features alongside 12 km of brecha, as well as inside two selected zones with a total area of 6 ha.  As a result of this systematic survey, we obtained a substantial sample of the wall network and associated cultural and physical features on the island.

The data presented so far is still under analysis, however, preliminary observations support the hypothesis that Buena Vista functioned as an agrarian settlement, strategically situated to take advantage of the different microenvironmental zones in the region, and not as a storage/commercial center as previously thought.

The field wall network around Buena Vista delimits plots with well-drained soil rich in organic material, located inside rejolladas, huayas, and in top hill zones. It also delimits plots with poorly-drained soils inside akalches and shallow tzekel soil areas. These soil quality differences inside enclosed plots are probably related with management of distinct crops in each microenvironmental zone.

Chich mounds found inside plots at Area 1 were probably used as platforms supporting perishable field storage structures. No evidence of domestic material was found in these mounds nor inside enclosed plots during our surface analysis.

Circular and half-circle beekeeping structures found as part of complex walls and inside some enclosed plots all over the survey area confirm historical accounts mentioning beekeeping as one of the most important activities on the island at time of Spanish contact (Wagner 1942). Differences in wall size could be explained as a need of walking spaces between plots, but also as a means to retain humidity and soil nutrients in hills and slope areas.

Wells found in hill areas are narrow cavities carved in the limestone to reach the water table. Almost every plot in hill areas had one or more of these wells. It is likely that these wells were used in "pot irrigation" as reported in prehispanic Oaxaca by Flannery (1967) and Kirkby (1973).

Sabloff and Rathje (1975) reported findings from excavations and surface collections in the main 7 ha platform. They found 88 stone and coral disks and 70 shell tools. In San Gervasio, twice as much dirt was removed, but produced only 59 shell tools and 38 stone and coral disks. This suggests a more specialized industry in Buena Vista. In addition, concentration of domestic ceramics (mainly late Postclassic) and metates in the main platform, and the total absence of potsherds and metates or any other domestic activity signature in our survey area around it, points to concentration of domestic and manufacturing tasks on the main platform.

In conclusion, our survey suggests the area was a nucleated site for beekeeping and agriculture production, where people lived and worked in manufacturing tasks. These activities were clustered on the main 7 ha platform, and local inhabitants took care of the field plots and beehives located at walking distance, rather than locating residences adjacent to their fields, as one finds in dispersed settlements.

The wall network delimits a large number of field plots where Buena Vista inhabitants could produce more than their subsistence needs. They could therefore supply the elite living in San Gervasio and pilgrims visiting the Cozumel sanctuary.

Survey in Buena Vista provided us with an excellent sample of agrarian remains in the site, showing vestiges of a more complex agriculture system in prehispanic times, than the slash and burn cultivation in practice today all over the Maya area. Further analysis and excavation is required to clarify agricultural techniques and identify the crops cultivated in different microenvironmental zones in Buena Vista, to increase our knowledge of postclassic Cozumel Maya economy and prehispanic agrarian activities.

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