Researchers from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have uncovered new evidence suggesting that ancient Maya communities carefully planned their domestic landscapes to maximise agriculture and manage rainwater, offering fresh insights into everyday life beyond the region’s monumental architecture.
The findings form part of the Tren Maya Archaeological Salvage Project, which is investigating how pre-Hispanic Maya households adapted and modified their environment to sustain farming and domestic activities.
Working at the Ateneo Peninsular in Mérida, Yucatán, archaeologist Carlos Matos Llanes and his team are analysing soils and sediments from four archaeological sites along Section 3 of the Tren Maya route. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and high-resolution LiDAR data, the researchers reconstructed the topography and hydrology of the sites to better understand how ancient communities organised their settlements.
The study focuses on Tepakán in Yucatán and the Bécal I, II and III sites in Campeche, all located within the Northern Maya Lowlands.
According to Matos Llanes, excavations revealed clusters of between 30 and 40 modest residential structures built directly on natural terrain. These domestic groups were separated by open spaces of around 200 metres, raising questions about how the surrounding landscape was used.
Rather than viewing Maya homes as isolated buildings, the research considers the wider domestic plot, which includes open areas, intermediate spaces and productive gardens or orchards. This broader perspective suggests that agriculture played a central role in household organisation.
Preliminary GIS analysis indicates that the Maya deliberately positioned their homes on elevated ground while leaving lower-lying areas open. Slope analysis showed that these natural gradients helped channel rainwater, while hydrological modelling revealed that water naturally collected in the open spaces between residential clusters.
Researchers believe these low-lying areas were likely cultivated for household food production, with any agricultural surplus potentially traded with neighbouring communities. Further archaeological and sedimentary evidence will be needed to confirm whether such exchange networks existed.
Mexico’s Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, said the research highlights the sophistication of Maya environmental knowledge.
“Investigating how ancient Mayan communities understood and transformed their environment allows us to recognise the depth of their knowledge about water, soil and food production. These findings broaden history beyond the great monuments and bring society closer to the daily life, organisation and knowledge that sustained this civilisation,” she said.
The project is coordinated by archaeologists Manuel Pérez Rivas and Susana Echeverría as part of the wider archaeological investigations associated with the Tren Maya railway.
Matos Llanes said that most of the daily activities of pre-Hispanic Maya communities took place in open spaces, not inside buildings, so the excavation of these sites was extremely important. Further research should also focus on residential sites and phosphorus soil analysis to confirm ancient agricultural practices.
The research adds to the understanding of how Maya communities customised their landscapes, and that environmental management and sustainable farming were essential to domestic life long before the arrival of Europeans.
Sources : INAH
