past horizons22 Central Maya Lowlands with El Pilar and other major centres indicated. A Maya temple at El Pilar protected by forest vegetation ( credit: Macduff Everton) At its height, this ancient city centre of El Pilar housed over 20,000 people in a mosaic landscape of city houses and gardens, surrounded by forest and agricultural fields. It has over 25 identified plazas in an area of approximately 100 acres ( 38 hectares), ranking it equal with major centres of the lowland Maya region. It is the largest centre in the Belize River area, more than three to five times the size of nearby centres Baking Pot or Xunantunich. Protected today in Belize and Guatemala, El Pilar's temples and plazas are connected by an ancient Maya causeway, symbolising its potential to become the world's first archaeological peace park. If El Pilar is such a large, important site, why not expose its monuments? The ancient buildings are sheltered by vegetation, while simultaneously encouraging an alternative focus from other sites: the environment, life ways and living culture of the Maya. Research at El Pilar centres on settlement patterns, environmental management, and the everyday people of the Maya civilisation. Partial exposures offer glimpses of the monumental architecture, while a fully excavated and consolidated house site, Tzunu'un, evokes everyday Maya life. In fact, everyday Maya life can still be experienced in the surrounding villages of El Pilar, where the rich cultural heritage of the Maya people has been maintained. The management model at El Pilar incorporates this community, leading to a rewarding collaboration

23past horizons with the stewards of Maya culture: traditional Maya farmers. They are known as forest gardeners because their agricultural techniques actually encourage biodiversity and foster the growth of the forest. " Archaeology Under the Canopy" and Maya agriculture may seem disconnected. In reality, they are the thread connecting the past to the present and future as researchers unravel the mysteries of the ancient Maya. In practicing their traditional lifeways, the contemporary Maya inform the past, telling us about life around El Pilar at its height. Ethnographic analogs have focused on the " milpa" and maize cultivation which are important aspects of Maya land use. The contemporary Maya forest gardeners, however, have a range of creative approaches that have traditionally provided for household livelihood passed down through the generations. For example, the forest garden is an intensive poly- cultivated plot that can be nurtured in a house yard or in continued ? ? Head archaeologist of El Pilar and director of ESP- Maya Anabel Ford with forest gardener Carmen Cruz at the Maya house site Tzunu'un ( credit: Macduff Everton) The Maya Forest Garden at El Pilar, showcasing the biodiversity of the Maya Forest and plants used by the Maya ( credit: BRASS/ El Pilar Project)