Cultural and Historical Geography of 
Southwest Guatemala 
By Ferix Wesster McBryve 
Geographer, Military Intelligence Service, War Department* 
INTRODUCTION 
Without risk of being justifiably branded an en- 
vironmental determinist, a geographer may point out 
direct and striking relationships between man and his 
habitat in Southwest Guatemala. In such a moun- 
tainous region within the Tropics, to understand the 
culture it is essential to have a good knowledge of 
the physical elements, especially those which most 
strongly affect human activities. High, rugged 
mountains, some mostly of limestone, others, lava 
and ash with many volcanic cones; deep sharp-cut 
gorges; low-lying plains; and lofty but ‘limited 
plateaus: these contrasted relief regions largely 
determine the major patterns of drainage, climate, 
vegetation, and soils. The physical complex is 
closely reflected in the distribution of population and 
human activities. 
These general facts are evident in a measure even 
from a casual perusal of maps of the region, and 
they may be observed in similar settings in other 
parts of the world. It has been my purpose, in ad- 
dition to studying cultural manifestations, to attempt 
an analytical description of the physical landscape, 
especially in terms of those elements which are 
critical to the native economy. The economic scene 
and the material adjustments of man to his milieu 
constitute the core of the research upon which this 
report is based. It is hoped that the extreme diversity 
and complexity of the cultural landscape will be 
MtelQnvlesve from Ohio State University. Since manuscript went to 
press, Cultural Geographer, Institute of Social Anthropology, Smith- 
sonian Institution. 
654162—47 
2 
demonstrated and explained in part, at least, by de- 
picting the extent of coincidence of human and 
natural phenomena. 
In view of an almost complete lack of preexisting 
data detailed enough for the study which I was 
undertaking, it was necessary from the start to col- 
lect almost all information by direct field observation. 
This meant not only original base maps, plans, and 
photographs, but also endless “cabbage counting” 
for which geographers are sometimes mildly ridiculed, 
and not always without some justification. Only the 
most general and obvious statements may be made 
without being accurately qualified, unless the field 
observer checks his conclusions constantly with 
counts and measurements. If these are not intelli- 
gently synthesized, correlated, and shaped into signifi- 
cant generalizations, they lack geographically even 
the merits of a good stamp collection. 
But any counting and measuring will result in 
truer pictures than many of those contained in some 
of our leading reference books on Latin America. 
It is commonly believed, for example, that the native 
markets of Central America and Mexico, and else- 
where in Latin America where there are simple cul- 
tures, are mainly social gathering places, of little 
economic significance. This is based upon the false 
assumption that every community is self-sufficient, 
producing all of its own goods with no real de- 
pendence upon other communities for anything. If 
this statement were reversed for Guatemala it would 
come nearer to the truth. 
