FORESTS AND HUMAN- PROGRKSS O.J 



It is not clear that Zon supports this theory in its entirety for on 

 pages 161 and 162 under the heading "The struggle between man and 

 forest" he quotes from Cook's "Vegetation aflfected by agriculture in 

 Central America," who presents evidence to show that many parts of 

 Central America were deforested for purposes of cultivation by ancient 

 primitive civilization and with its decline the forests again took pos- 

 session of the land in many localities. 



What Zon does not call attention to in this connection is that accord- 

 ing to Cook many large areas once in forest have been replaced by 

 grass and open pine and oak forests and kept so by fires. Following 

 the quotations of Cook, Zon makes this significant statement on 

 page 62 : 



"What is regarded by some geographers as evidence of a civilization 

 that had arisen in the primeval forest is nothing but the remains of a 

 civilization which succeeded in clearing the forest ; with the decline of 

 this civilization and favored by a warm and moist climate, the forest 

 again took possession of the land." 



What is important here is that according to present vegetation and 

 other evidences, large areas of forests in Central America had been 

 dominated for the purposes of raising food by ancient people, and is 

 continued by their descendants, so that a large part of the vegetation of 

 today is not virgin forest. Where completely abandoned it has recov- 

 ered its virgin conditions. Other places, due perhaps to the remnants 

 of the ancient civilization left behind, still remain deforested, and have 

 perhaps continued in this condition since the forest was first cut. If 

 one happens to be in the Motagua valley of Guatemala, one of the 

 ancient seats of the Maya civilization, at the dry season of the year, he 

 will find the air filled with smoke made by clearing mature and second 

 growth forests for sliifting methods of cultivation. Each year the 

 forest scenery is still being "amputated," the crop planted but not culti- 

 vated, the jungle growth with grass driving the farmer to another area, 

 only to return after another generation of trees occupy the area, or if 

 fires prevail, as is often the case, the area remains deforested. The 

 Mayas were undoubtedly a people of the stone age. They had none 

 other than stone implements. Notwithstanding Huntington's change 

 of climate theory, and the evidence he presents is not convincing, they 

 probably reached great power, with a dense population in the higher 

 cooler climates. They used up the virgin forest regions here, and 

 gradually pushed into the lower moister valley in search of new areas 



