348 UNIT 3 MODERN MESOAMERICA
native Mesoamericans are part of the global economy. The economy is defined here
as all those aspects of society related to the production, distribution, and consump-
tion of goods and services. It is of interest to assess in this context the kinds of rela-
tions people establish among themselves as they produce a given item. Such relations
are an indication of the degree of stratification found in a given society. An analysis
of some of the technological, social, and cultural changes that people experience
enables us to understand the nature of the changing societies in which they live. The
goal, then, is to show that the different actors, producers, and consumers through-
out Mesoamerica are undergoing common processes of differentiation and change.
In keeping with this text’s focus, we will concentrate on the native, indigenous
peoples as they participate in the national and global economy, and the strategies they
devise to survive under changing and often strenuous conditions. Indigenous
Mesoamerican peoples participate in a variety of ways in the economies of the re-
gion. In some settings, such as agriculture, cattle ranching, and wage labor, they
share markets and opportunities with sectors of the mestizo population. The range
of activities of native peoples includes traditional milpaagriculture (see later), semi-
subsistence actions that always include some form of access to markets; various com-
binations of agriculture and manufactures; wage labor in small family enterprises;
working in the tourism sector; and labor in larger industrial settings. We begin with
a discussion of milpa agriculture, the traditional means by which Mesoamericans
have survived through the centuries.THE TRADITIONAL MILPA
From 2000 B.C. until A.D. 2000 (actually 2005), the milpa production of maize has
been central to the Mesoamerican economy (Figure 9.1). The milpa has most often
taken the form of swidden or slash-and-burn agriculture (see Chapter 1 for the pre-
Hispanic history of maize production). In swidden agriculture, the forest and brush
are cut at the end of the dry season. The slashed trees and plants are allowed to lie
where they fall, whereas fruit-bearing trees and other useful plants are left standing.
Firewood is gathered, and the remaining cut brush is set on fire. In the ashes,
which add nutrients to the soil—and as close to the beginning of the rainy season as
possible—the farmers plant their fields. Using a digging stick, they poke holes in the
enriched soil and drop in a few seeds of corn. At this time, or later, they will also
plant squash and bean seeds. This combination has long formed the tripartite-basis
of the Mesoamerican diet and a surplus of food sold in local and sometimes distant
markets.
Milpa agriculture, primarily a male economic activity, has usually been supple-
mented by household-produced manufactures, garden produce, and domesticated
animals, which tend to be female-based economic activities. Tomatoes, peppers, and
a wide range of herbs and greens are grown in these gardens. Pottery and textiles are
usually also manufactured in these households. Along with maize surpluses, garden
produce, pottery, and textiles are taken to the market. Around the hearth, maize is
transformed into tortillas, thus integrating the male and female economic domains