Archaeological data as evidence of sustainable development: cases from the Gulf Coast of Mexico

Abstract

Traditional knowledge as a source of sustainable development is a research topic that generally falls in the realm of ethnology and social anthropology. Archaeology, on the other hand, can provide the longue durée perspective on past and sometimes lost traditions that may be significant as modern sustainable strategies. This paper presents archaeological cases of long-standing traditional knowledge in agriculture and construction in the humid tropical lowlands of the Mexican Gulf Coast, which were lost about ad 1000 through episodes of cultural conflict. The first case concerns the agricultural use of wetlands for the intensive production of commercial and subsistence crops (cotton and maize). The second case is monumental earthen architecture, including pyramids and palaces, apparently achieved by using petroleum derivatives as an earth stabilizer. Besides evidencing sustainable practices, archaeology also provides the economical and socio-political context in which such labor-intensive strategies evolved and thrived for centuries. This context analysis allows cost–benefit concerns to be approached, if the reintroduction of such alternative technologies were contemplated in a modern market-oriented world.

Keywords:

• pre-Columbian archaeology
• technology
• tradition
• earthen architecture
• intensive agriculture

Acknowledgements

The archaeological data presented in this paper were obtained in my capacity as researcher of the Institute of Anthropological Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), during several field seasons of the project “Exploraciones en el Centro de Veracruz”, with the permission of the Mexican Council of Archaeology of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). Giovanna Liberotti and David Piña created the 3D reconstructions of the La Joya site while participating in the project between 2012 and 2014.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding

This work was supported by Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) [individual grant 27793 H (1999–2000)]; Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica of the Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico (DGAPA) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico [grant IN300812 (2012–14)].

Notes

1 All dates in this paper are expressed in uncalibrated radiocarbon years.

2 Only at Zapotal was a small shrine preserved and roofed over, for public viewing (Wyllie, 2010). However, it is only a small part of a large platform, itself part of a monumental pyramid-plaza compound. Some buildings were unearthed as part of salvage excavations, but the data are only available in several unpublished thesis or technical reports.

3 This is not the case for wood construction, for which many technical and structural studies exist, particularly in Europe and Asia, based on historical data and monuments.