Beyond the Swidden: Mesoamerican Agricultural Practices Past, Present, and Future

Beyond the Swidden: Mesoamerican Agricultural Practices Past, Present, and Future

The final presentation in the Archaeological Institute of America Dayton Society's 2025-2026 Lecture Series presented by Dr. Shanti Morell-Hart, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology/Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

How do we understand human negotiations of variable ecologies from the perspective of deep time, and identify historical shifts in these dynamics? How does such research help us to understand societal “collapse” as it has been framed by so many scholars (often outside of historical ecology and archaeology)? What cautionary tales or routes to innovation can we draw from these understandings?

In this talk Dr. Morell-Hart will address recent studies in Mesoamerica on ancient agriculture, as well as resilient features of human practice in negotiating tropical landscapes. She will focus on several areas where she has carried out archaeological research in Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras, with an emphasis on the analysis of plant residues and consider: How can we negotiate productivity and sustainability (through many cultural and natural definitions)? What alternate farming solutions can we offer, based in archaeological research and understandings of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)?

She will also address contemporary issues in Mesoamerica, from the home garden, to the milpa, to the forest. What new agricultural strategies in tropical Mesoamerica have been inspired-- or discouraged-- by ancient practices? What additional strategies might we consider in an era of radical environmental change?

This lecture is scheduled to take place in person in the Science Center Auditorium (SC 114) at The University of Dayton.

For a campus map with building and parking information visit https://udayton.edu/map/

Thanks to the Archaeological Institute of America’s Lecture Program and its Dayton Society members this lecture is free and open to the public.

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Archaeological Institute of America- Dayton Society

Beyond the Swidden: Mesoamerican Agricultural Practices Past, Present, and Future is taking place at Archaeological Institute of America- Dayton Society, which is located at 300 College Park Dr. in Dayton. Archaeological Institute of America- Dayton Society - The purpose of the AIA Dayton Society is to promote the knowledge and study of, as well as interest in, archaeology and related subjects, and to further the aims and programs of the Archaeological Institute of America.