ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the Late Classic forested landscape using the UCSB Maya Forest GIS database for the El Pilar area. Understanding the proportions of open field gaps, woody plant building, and closed-canopy mature forests of today helps reveal the Maya forest landscape story. Using the El Pilar model for ancient Maya land use, the chapter assesses the proportions of the open field to closed forest created by an active milpa forest garden cycle. To appreciate the forest environments of Late Classic Maya, it usees the proportions of long-term uplands plus the lowlands and wetlands as the main forested areas. The chapter affirmed that in the milpa forest garden cycle the more intensive the skill investment is, the greater the open-field productivity and the larger the area of forest cover. The diversity of land cover, from residential zones to mature forest, makes available habitats for animals that richly augment the Maya diet.
