Citation: Walden, J.P.; Hoggarth, J.A.; Ebert, C.E.; Fedick, S.L.; Biggie, M.; Meyer, B.; Shaw-Müller, K.; Qiu, Y.; Ran,W.; Ellis, O.P.; et al. Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley. Land 2023, 12, 483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ land12020483 Academic Editor: Mark Altaweel Received: 10 January 2023 Revised: 6 February 2023 Accepted: 6 February 2023 Published: 15 February 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). land Article Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley John P. Walden 1, * , Julie A. Hoggarth 2 , Claire E. Ebert 3 , Scott L. Fedick 4 , Michael Biggie 5 , Brett Meyer 6 , Kyle Shaw-Müller 7 , Yijia Qiu 3 , Weiyu Ran 3 , Olivia P. Ellis 3 , Tia B. Watkins 8 , J. Britt Davis 9 , Rafael A. Guerra 10 , Christophe Helmke 11 and Jaime J. Awe 12 1 Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, 21 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 2 Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97173, Waco, TX 76798, USA 3 Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, WWPH, 3302 S Bouquet St., Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA 4 Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, 1285 Hartford Pike, Glocester, RI 02814, USA 5 Los Angeles Maritime Institute, Berth 73, Suite 2, San Pedro, CA 90731, USA 6 Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, 101 West Hall, 1085 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA 7 Department of Anthropology, 19 Ursula Franklin St., Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada 8 Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK 9 School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA 10 Faculty of Arts, Science, and Technology, Galen University, Western Highway, Mile 62.5, San Ignacio, Belize 11 Department of Cross–Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Karen Blixens Plads 8, DK-2300 Copenhagen, Denmark 12 Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, 5 E McConnell Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA * Correspondence: john_walden@fas.harvard.edu Abstract: Land use practices have had important implications for structuring household inequalities and broader political systems in the past. Our contribution examines settlement patterns in relation to political structure, household wealth, ecological productivity and agricultural techniques. Combining settlement pattern data with high–precision soils data, we examine the extent to which different trajectories of polity formation impact the settlement location and land use practices of intermediate elites and commoners. The Classic Maya (CE 250/300–900) polities of Baking Pot and Lower Dover in the Upper Belize River Valley serve as enlightening case studies because despite being situated near one another, the two centers emerged along very different trajectories. Whereas the polity of Baking Pot arose slowly, in tandem with surrounding demography, the neighboring polity of Lower Dover arose rapidly in the Late Classic period (CE 600–900) in an area which was already home to established local populations. Our analysis shows that while Baking Pot had substantial settlement clustering around its epicenter, populations at Lower Dover aggregated around secondary and tertiary centers farther away from the polity core. Analyses also demonstrate that most commoner and intermediate elite residences were situated on the most productive agricultural lands in the region, though some intermediate elite households were situated on hilltops or in border zones with marginal soil productivity for political and tactical reasons. Commoner households were situated on a range of productivity zones reflecting diverse land–use practices which had implications for household wealth. Our case study illustrates the importance of integrating land use practices into our reconstructions of ancient political hierarchies, especially in terms of understanding political strategies and household wealth. Keywords: settlement patterns; political dynamics; ancient Maya; agricultural strategies; intermedi- ate elites; household inequalities 1. Introduction The upper Belize River Valley is one of the most intensively studied archaeological regions in the world. The Belize River Valley was the birthplace of Maya settlement Land 2023, 12, 483. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020483 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/land