Studies examining the relationship between prehispanic Mesoamerican governments and agriculture have been heavily influenced by 19th century scholars.  This influence is often filtered through the work of neo-evolutionists such as Wittfogel and Steward.  The lack of large-scale irrigation works in Mesoamerica has led researchers to apply Wittfogel's model to a form of wetland agriculture known as ditched fields.  In the Basin of Mexico, a model proposed by Angel Palerm has provided the dominant approach to the topic.  A critical review of the ethnohistoric data does not support this model.  Similarly, the archaeological data used to support Palerm's model is equivocal, at best, when viewed in light of ethnographic data.

For the Maya Lowlands, researchers rely heavily upon assumptions concerning the relationship between complex societies, kinship, and agriculture.  It is argued that, contrary to traditional views, kinship still plays an important role in the organization of complex societies.  Evidence for the presence of lineages cannot be used as to support the position that lineages controlled the agricultural landscape.

Using comparative data, it is argued that preindustrial governments were unaware of the problems facing the average farmer.  Large-scale irrigationworks wre more often a monument to a ruler's greatness than an effective solution to agricultural problems.  These governments placed greater emphasis on transporting food into urban areas than on the production of food.

Keywords: hydraulic hypothesis, ditched fields, Mesoamerica