In agriculture, a milpa is a field for growing food crops and a crop-growing system used throughout

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

, especially in the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

, in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The word ''milpa'' derives from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

words ''milli'' and ''pan''. Based on the

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

of the

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

and of other Mesoamerican peoples, the ''milpa'' system is used to produce crops of

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s, and squash without employing artificial

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

s and artificial

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

s. The land-conservation cycle of the milpa is two years of cultivation and eight years of laying fallow. In the Mexican states of

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

and

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

and in central Mexico as well as

Guanacaste Province Guanacaste () is a Provinces of Costa Rica, province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern region of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Alajuela Province to the east, and Puntarenas Pro ...

Costa Rica, as an agricultural term ''milpa'' denotes a single corn plant; in El Salvador and Guatemala, ''milpa'' specifically refers to harvested crop of maize and the field for cultivation. The concept of ''milpa'' is a sociocultural construct rather than simply a system of agriculture. It involves complex interactions and relationships between farmers, as well as distinct personal relationships with both the crops and land. For example, it has been noted that "the making of ''milpa'' is the central, most sacred act, one which binds together the family, the community, the universe ... tforms the core institution of Indian society in Mesoamerica and its religious and social importance often appear to exceed its nutritional and economic importance."Nigh, R. (1976) Evolutionary ecology of Maya agriculture in highland Chiapas, Mexico. PhD dissertation, Stanford University. Ann Arbor: University microfilms.

Milpitas, California Milpitas (Spanish for or little cornfields) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, part of Silicon Valley and the broader San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, it is bordered by San Jose, California, S ...

, derives its name from the Nahuatl term "milpa" followed by the Spanish feminine diminutive plural suffix "-itas".

References

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External links

"milpa" – Diccionario de la lengua españolaMaya Forest Gardeners in Guatemala and BelizeMaya Forest Garden, see The Milpa Cycle: The Essential Tool of the Maya Forest Garden
Agriculture in Mesoamerica fr:Milpa

See also

References

External links