Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Re-fusing nature/nurture

1983; Elsevier BV; Volume: 6; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0277-5395(83)90023-7

1879-243X

Nancy Tuana,

Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond

Humans engage both material and immaterial qualities of the environment to achieve political ends. Water is necessary for biophysical existence, but also holds symbolic and ideological power. Physically controlling access to water sources and communing with deities to control rainfall are both ways ancient Maya rulers exerted power over commoner populations. In some Classic Period (250–900 CE) city-centers governed by divine rulership, hierarchical control of water during episodes of drought led commoners to “vote with their feet” and abandon these cities. While many larger cities in the Maya area were undergoing vast sociopolitical reorganization and large-scale depopulation towards the end of the Classic Period, the medium-sized city of Aventura was thriving. In contrast to the hierarchical control of water seen at these other cities, in this article I demonstrate that commoners and elite alike at Aventura were able to access important water resources, and the city flourished. I argue that heterarchy is an appropriate model for the political ecology of Aventura because although there was inequality, people of all socioeconomic statuses had access to water, even in times of scarcity. Access to water resources cut across hierarchical lines, contributing to Aventura’s success at the end of the Classic Period.