Agricultural Intensification on the epiClassic northern Mesoamerican frontier: The La Quemada Terraces

The underlying paradigms of Boserup, Chisholm and risk management theories are used as frameworks to present and interpret findings from our excavations on the La Quemada agricultural terraces in southern Zacatecas, Mexico. Boserupian models are based on population pressure; Chisholm models are based on distance, and risk management focuses on environmental challenges and the varied human responses to them. The data suggests a greater congruency to risk management, especially in terms of diversification and the cultivation of agave as a key buffer throughout the region. Distance also plays an important role, and underscores the local-level concentration of production. A distinction is shown between the La Quemada terraces and those associated with individual settlements. The former implies top-down decision making; the latter reflects bottom-up or collective group decisions. Finally, an alternative consideration to these paradigms lies in the extractive nature of the primate settlement system. Here additional subsistence requirements for large labor groups and specialists could indirectly encourage increased agricultural productivity.