2 Three thousand years ago, the earliest Maya settlers carved out small plots of farmland by chopping through the dense vegetation with stone axes and obsidian (volcanic glass) knives. They burned the plants they had cut down and worked the ashes into the soil as fertilizer. In May, at the end of the long dry season, they sowed corn, beans, squash, and peppers. The fields, however, remained fertile for only one or two growing seasons. Farmers then had to clear more plots and let the old ones lie unplanted for several years before they could be cleared, burned, and replanted. According to the passage, which two of the following best enabled the Mayan way of life to continue from its beginnings, over 3,000 years ago, until its fall?

A. dry season

B. population density

C. stone cities

D. rainy season

E. agricultural methods

F. arable land

Choose all that apply