This article compares the current state of maize diversity in 6 highland indigenous Maya Guatemalan villages with studies conducted earlier in this century. Although findings are preliminary, it appears that a significant number of maize varieties are no longer grown, as determined from comparisons with data collected earlier in this century. The authors believe that this decline is related to the recently concluded (1996) Guatemalan civil war and the associated poor socioeconomic conditions in which most rural Guatemalans exist. We present the case for the direct link between the maintenance of crop diversity and the political and economic atmosphere or security in peasant farming landscapes.