slash and burn method
The Maya and the Aztec had a slash and burn technique. That means cutting down and burning trees. Another word for that is Milpa. They grew corn, beans, cacao, chili, Maguey, bananas, and cotton. When they burn the trees, they use the ashes as added soil nutrition. After a few years the nutrition in the soil would be used up and the Maya would have to burn and plant in another place, leaving the first place to grow back.
1. Prepare the field by cutting down vegetation; plants that provide food or timber may be left standing.
2. The downed vegetation is allowed to dry until just before the rainiest part of the year to ensure an effective burn.
3. The plot of land is burned to remove vegetation, drive away pests, and provide a burst of nutrients for planting.
4. Planting is done directly in the ashes left after the burn.
1. Prepare the field by cutting down vegetation; plants that provide food or timber may be left standing.
2. The downed vegetation is allowed to dry until just before the rainiest part of the year to ensure an effective burn.
3. The plot of land is burned to remove vegetation, drive away pests, and provide a burst of nutrients for planting.
4. Planting is done directly in the ashes left after the burn.
In this picture, they're gathering the ashes after they burned down some trees. They gather the ashes for nutrition for the soil. They would have to come back to that in a few years, after the nutrition was used up.
In this picture, they're burning the trees for the ashes and the soil nutrition. AS you see it's only a small section.