Archaeological data as evidence of sustainable development: cases from the Gulf Coast of Mexico

Traditional knowledge as a source of sustainable development is a research topic that generally falls in the realm of ethnology and social anthropology. Archaeology, on the other hand, can provide the longue durée perspective on past and sometimes lost traditions that may be significant as modern sustainable strategies. This paper presents archaeological cases of long-standing traditional knowledge in agriculture and construction in the humid tropical lowlands of the Mexican Gulf Coast, which were lost about ad 1000 through episodes of cultural conflict. The first case concerns the agricultural use of wetlands for the intensive production of commercial and subsistence crops (cotton and maize). The second case is monumental earthen architecture, including pyramids and palaces, apparently achieved by using petroleum derivatives as an earth stabilizer. Besides evidencing sustainable practices, archaeology also provides the economical and socio-political context in which such labor-intensive strategies evolved and thrived for centuries. This context analysis allows cost–benefit concerns to be approached, if the reintroduction of such alternative technologies were contemplated in a modern market-oriented world.