<p>Understanding past societal responses to climate change requires proxy i... more <p>Understanding past societal responses to climate change requires proxy indicators of human population, climate and land-use change. We apply a range of proxies to a lake sediment core from Laguna Itzan, a cenote adjacent to the ancient Maya population centre of Itzan, in order to examine the response of the lowland Maya to climatic and environmental change, which remains poorly understood. By combining molecular proxies for population (faecal stanols) and biomass burning (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs) with isotopic analyses of plant wax n-alkanes as proxies for vegetation change (δ<sup>13</sup>C) and palaeohydrology (δ<sup>2</sup>H), we show the complex interplay of environmental and societal changes over 3300 years.</p><p>Leaf wax hydrogen isotope records show that drought between ca. 750 and 900 CE, thought to have been responsible for societal collapse or transformation across the Maya lowlands, is not expressed in the catchment of Itzan. This likely reflects spatial variability in the magnitude and timing of climate change. Population decline at Itzan may have been a result of instability caused by drought from other areas as a result of military incursions or through climate migration/an influx of climate refugees, pressures between neighbouring polities, or disruptions to trade networks or regional food production systems.</p><p>Leaf wax carbon isotope ratios indicate brief intervals of intensive maize agriculture, generally associated with wet periods, but this expansion of maize agriculture is not long lasting, and often returns to baseline levels of C<sub>4</sub> plant abundance. In addition to the earlier presence of humans at this site than currently indicated in the Itzan archaeological record based on the abundance of faecal stanols, we infer cultivation of maize around 4000 year BP, and potentially earlier. Further, analysis of the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons suggests that fire in the catchment transitioned over the past 3500 years from intense fires associated with slash and burn, or swidden, agriculture to a less intense fire regime following initial land clearance.</p><p>Our data indicate that human population dynamics and patterns of land clearance for agriculture varied substantially throughout the sediment core record, and that palaeoclimatic change may have driven these patterns. </p>
Abstract The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reco... more Abstract The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reconstruct human population change, assuming that variability in faecal stanol concentration is a reliable proxy for relative human populations. The ancient lowland Maya of Mesoamerica represents an important ancient society whose demographic dynamics in many locations remain uncertain. We apply the faecal stanol proxy to a sediment core retrieved from a lake adjacent to the archaeological site of Itzan, an ancient population centre in the southwestern Maya lowlands. The sedimentary faecal stanol record from Laguna Itzan implies substantial centennial- and millennial-scale changes in local human populations from 3300 cal years BP to the present. Variability in faecal stanol concentrations is broadly consistent with archaeological evidence for regional societal change across the Maya lowlands, but also implies an earlier presence of humans at this site than is currently indicated in the Itzan archaeological record. We find evidence for high-frequency variability in coprostanol concentrations during the Maya Preclassic period, which we infer represents centennial-scale shifts in settlement patterns associated with changes in agricultural and land use patterns. Given Preclassic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, we observe lower-than-expected Classic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, and these may partly be a result of either use of human waste for fertiliser or reduced soil erosion or both. Three periods of inferred population decline are associated with palaeoclimate evidence for a drying climate, specifically during the Terminal Classic (1220-1050 cal yr BP) and the Protoclassic 2 (1860-1670 cal yr BP), as well as the less well-studied drought between 3330 and 2900 cal yr BP during the Early to Middle Preclassic periods. An additional decline and hiatus in coprostanol input coincides with a period of anomalously wet climate in the Late Preclassic. These linkages suggest that climatic change and variability could have played a role in demographic change at multiple points in the evolution of Maya civilisation. Our work shows that faecal stanols are valuable proxies for past human population dynamics, and their relation to climatic change, in Mesoamerica.
In upland settings in humid and semihumid temperate and tropical environments, bioturbation is a ... more In upland settings in humid and semihumid temperate and tropical environments, bioturbation is a major factor in the burial of modest architectural remains, which are abundant components of the settlement systems of complex societies. Surface survey, favored by archaeologists of complex societies as a settlement detection method, seldom is appropriate for discovering architectural remains buried through bioturbation. Where the focus
This paper addresses how the rulers of the Classic Maya sought to promote polity cohesion and to ... more This paper addresses how the rulers of the Classic Maya sought to promote polity cohesion and to maintain power. New information is presented on scribe capture and its importance in reinforcing the power and importance of the king.
... size of the elite sector; and the problem of nonplatform, or "invisible," residenti... more ... size of the elite sector; and the problem of nonplatform, or "invisible," residential settlement. ... Central to McAnany's work is the assertion that the history that processualists systematically ... Although ostensibly an examination of the role of ancestor veneration in ancient Maya society ...
Magnetic, palynological, and paleoecological data indicate that in the Río de la Pasión drainage,... more Magnetic, palynological, and paleoecological data indicate that in the Río de la Pasión drainage, one of the most thoroughly investigated areas of the southern Maya lowlands, a refugee population remained in the Laguna Las Pozas basin long after the Classic Maya collapse and the Terminal Classic period, previously identified by archaeologists as eras of near-total regional abandonment. During the Early Postclassic period, ca. A. D. 900 to 1200, agriculturalists colonized and deforested the Laguna Las Pozas basin for agriculture while adjacent, abandoned terrain was undergoing reforestation. After discussing the archaeological utility of magnetic analyses, we conclude that following the Maya collapse, some refugee populations migrated to geographically marginal non-degraded landscapes within the southern lowlands not previously occupied by the Classic Maya.
Through analyses of data recovered at Itzán, Guatemala, this paper examines the architectural mor... more Through analyses of data recovered at Itzán, Guatemala, this paper examines the architectural morphology and the probable functions of “invisible” building remains in the Maya Lowlands. Invisible building remains are buried, leave no surface traces, and cannot be detected during surface survey, which is the principal settlement detection technique employed by Mayanists. Data at Itzán and other sites suggest that Maya invisible buildings are a more abundant settlement category than many archaeologists have supposed.
Page 1. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3, 265292 (2004) 2004 Wiley Perio... more Page 1. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3, 265292 (2004) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI:10.1002/gea.10117 short standa GEA(Wiley) RIGHT BATCH ...
Maya elites and commoners intensively occupied the Itzan escarpment, located in the lower Río de ... more Maya elites and commoners intensively occupied the Itzan escarpment, located in the lower Río de la Pasión drainage system of Petén, Guatemala, during the Preclassic and Protoclassic periods. Itzan was colonized during the Xe phase of the Middle Preclassic period, and its occupation intensified during the late Middle and Late Preclassic periods, when elite residential and ceremonial facilities were erected. During the Late Preclassic and Protoclassic periods, the escarpment was dominated by Chaak Ak'al, a large site distinguished by massive pyramids and lengthy wall-like constructions, which undoubtedly served as a polity capital. Subsequent to the Protoclassic period, the locus of activity atop the escarpment shifted back to Itzan, which served as a polity capital through the Late Classic period. From data collected at Itzan, Chaak Ak'al, and other sites of the lower Río de la Pasión drainage system, a picture of regional Preclassic Maya political geography is emerging.
... de dos estaciones de trabajo de campo del Proyecto Paleoecológico Maya, un esfuerzo de invest... more ... de dos estaciones de trabajo de campo del Proyecto Paleoecológico Maya, un esfuerzo de investigación multi-disciplinaria dirigido por Kevin Johnston. ... La fuente principal de minerales ferromagnéticos de la selva tropical es el suelo y la fuente de minerales magnéticos en la ...
The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reconstruct h... more The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reconstruct human population change, assuming that variability in faecal stanol concentration is a reliable proxy for relative human populations. The ancient lowland Maya of Mesoamerica represents an important ancient society whose demographic dynamics in many locations remain uncertain. We apply the faecal stanol proxy to a sediment core retrieved from a lake adjacent to the archaeological site of Itzan, an ancient population centre in the southwestern Maya lowlands. The sedimentary faecal stanol record from Laguna Itzan implies substantial centennial-and millennial-scale changes in local human populations from 3300 cal years BP to the present. Variability in faecal stanol concentrations is broadly consistent with archaeological evidence for regional societal change across the Maya lowlands, but also implies an earlier presence of humans at this site than is currently indicated in the Itzan archaeological record. We find evidence for high-frequency variability in coprostanol concentrations during the Maya Preclassic period, which we infer represents centennial-scale shifts in settlement patterns associated with changes in agricultural and land use patterns. Given Preclassic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, we observe lower-than-expected Classic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, and these may partly be a result of either use of human waste for fertiliser or reduced soil erosion or both. Three periods of inferred population decline are associated with palaeoclimate evidence for a drying climate, specifically during the Terminal Classic (1220-1050 cal yr BP) and the Protoclassic 2 (1860-1670 cal yr BP), as well as the less well-studied drought between 3330 and 2900 cal yr BP during the Early to Middle Preclassic periods. An additional decline and hiatus in coprostanol input coincides with a period of anomalously wet climate in the Late Preclassic. These linkages suggest that climatic change and variability could have played a role in demographic change at multiple points in the evolution of Maya civilisation. Our work shows that faecal stanols are valuable proxies for past human population dynamics, and their relation to climatic change, in Mesoamerica.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
<p>Understanding past societal responses to climate change requires proxy i... more <p>Understanding past societal responses to climate change requires proxy indicators of human population, climate and land-use change. We apply a range of proxies to a lake sediment core from Laguna Itzan, a cenote adjacent to the ancient Maya population centre of Itzan, in order to examine the response of the lowland Maya to climatic and environmental change, which remains poorly understood. By combining molecular proxies for population (faecal stanols) and biomass burning (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs) with isotopic analyses of plant wax n-alkanes as proxies for vegetation change (δ<sup>13</sup>C) and palaeohydrology (δ<sup>2</sup>H), we show the complex interplay of environmental and societal changes over 3300 years.</p><p>Leaf wax hydrogen isotope records show that drought between ca. 750 and 900 CE, thought to have been responsible for societal collapse or transformation across the Maya lowlands, is not expressed in the catchment of Itzan. This likely reflects spatial variability in the magnitude and timing of climate change. Population decline at Itzan may have been a result of instability caused by drought from other areas as a result of military incursions or through climate migration/an influx of climate refugees, pressures between neighbouring polities, or disruptions to trade networks or regional food production systems.</p><p>Leaf wax carbon isotope ratios indicate brief intervals of intensive maize agriculture, generally associated with wet periods, but this expansion of maize agriculture is not long lasting, and often returns to baseline levels of C<sub>4</sub> plant abundance. In addition to the earlier presence of humans at this site than currently indicated in the Itzan archaeological record based on the abundance of faecal stanols, we infer cultivation of maize around 4000 year BP, and potentially earlier. Further, analysis of the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons suggests that fire in the catchment transitioned over the past 3500 years from intense fires associated with slash and burn, or swidden, agriculture to a less intense fire regime following initial land clearance.</p><p>Our data indicate that human population dynamics and patterns of land clearance for agriculture varied substantially throughout the sediment core record, and that palaeoclimatic change may have driven these patterns. </p>
Abstract The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reco... more Abstract The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reconstruct human population change, assuming that variability in faecal stanol concentration is a reliable proxy for relative human populations. The ancient lowland Maya of Mesoamerica represents an important ancient society whose demographic dynamics in many locations remain uncertain. We apply the faecal stanol proxy to a sediment core retrieved from a lake adjacent to the archaeological site of Itzan, an ancient population centre in the southwestern Maya lowlands. The sedimentary faecal stanol record from Laguna Itzan implies substantial centennial- and millennial-scale changes in local human populations from 3300 cal years BP to the present. Variability in faecal stanol concentrations is broadly consistent with archaeological evidence for regional societal change across the Maya lowlands, but also implies an earlier presence of humans at this site than is currently indicated in the Itzan archaeological record. We find evidence for high-frequency variability in coprostanol concentrations during the Maya Preclassic period, which we infer represents centennial-scale shifts in settlement patterns associated with changes in agricultural and land use patterns. Given Preclassic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, we observe lower-than-expected Classic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, and these may partly be a result of either use of human waste for fertiliser or reduced soil erosion or both. Three periods of inferred population decline are associated with palaeoclimate evidence for a drying climate, specifically during the Terminal Classic (1220-1050 cal yr BP) and the Protoclassic 2 (1860-1670 cal yr BP), as well as the less well-studied drought between 3330 and 2900 cal yr BP during the Early to Middle Preclassic periods. An additional decline and hiatus in coprostanol input coincides with a period of anomalously wet climate in the Late Preclassic. These linkages suggest that climatic change and variability could have played a role in demographic change at multiple points in the evolution of Maya civilisation. Our work shows that faecal stanols are valuable proxies for past human population dynamics, and their relation to climatic change, in Mesoamerica.
In upland settings in humid and semihumid temperate and tropical environments, bioturbation is a ... more In upland settings in humid and semihumid temperate and tropical environments, bioturbation is a major factor in the burial of modest architectural remains, which are abundant components of the settlement systems of complex societies. Surface survey, favored by archaeologists of complex societies as a settlement detection method, seldom is appropriate for discovering architectural remains buried through bioturbation. Where the focus
This paper addresses how the rulers of the Classic Maya sought to promote polity cohesion and to ... more This paper addresses how the rulers of the Classic Maya sought to promote polity cohesion and to maintain power. New information is presented on scribe capture and its importance in reinforcing the power and importance of the king.
... size of the elite sector; and the problem of nonplatform, or "invisible," residenti... more ... size of the elite sector; and the problem of nonplatform, or "invisible," residential settlement. ... Central to McAnany's work is the assertion that the history that processualists systematically ... Although ostensibly an examination of the role of ancestor veneration in ancient Maya society ...
Magnetic, palynological, and paleoecological data indicate that in the Río de la Pasión drainage,... more Magnetic, palynological, and paleoecological data indicate that in the Río de la Pasión drainage, one of the most thoroughly investigated areas of the southern Maya lowlands, a refugee population remained in the Laguna Las Pozas basin long after the Classic Maya collapse and the Terminal Classic period, previously identified by archaeologists as eras of near-total regional abandonment. During the Early Postclassic period, ca. A. D. 900 to 1200, agriculturalists colonized and deforested the Laguna Las Pozas basin for agriculture while adjacent, abandoned terrain was undergoing reforestation. After discussing the archaeological utility of magnetic analyses, we conclude that following the Maya collapse, some refugee populations migrated to geographically marginal non-degraded landscapes within the southern lowlands not previously occupied by the Classic Maya.
Through analyses of data recovered at Itzán, Guatemala, this paper examines the architectural mor... more Through analyses of data recovered at Itzán, Guatemala, this paper examines the architectural morphology and the probable functions of “invisible” building remains in the Maya Lowlands. Invisible building remains are buried, leave no surface traces, and cannot be detected during surface survey, which is the principal settlement detection technique employed by Mayanists. Data at Itzán and other sites suggest that Maya invisible buildings are a more abundant settlement category than many archaeologists have supposed.
Page 1. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3, 265292 (2004) 2004 Wiley Perio... more Page 1. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3, 265292 (2004) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI:10.1002/gea.10117 short standa GEA(Wiley) RIGHT BATCH ...
Maya elites and commoners intensively occupied the Itzan escarpment, located in the lower Río de ... more Maya elites and commoners intensively occupied the Itzan escarpment, located in the lower Río de la Pasión drainage system of Petén, Guatemala, during the Preclassic and Protoclassic periods. Itzan was colonized during the Xe phase of the Middle Preclassic period, and its occupation intensified during the late Middle and Late Preclassic periods, when elite residential and ceremonial facilities were erected. During the Late Preclassic and Protoclassic periods, the escarpment was dominated by Chaak Ak'al, a large site distinguished by massive pyramids and lengthy wall-like constructions, which undoubtedly served as a polity capital. Subsequent to the Protoclassic period, the locus of activity atop the escarpment shifted back to Itzan, which served as a polity capital through the Late Classic period. From data collected at Itzan, Chaak Ak'al, and other sites of the lower Río de la Pasión drainage system, a picture of regional Preclassic Maya political geography is emerging.
... de dos estaciones de trabajo de campo del Proyecto Paleoecológico Maya, un esfuerzo de invest... more ... de dos estaciones de trabajo de campo del Proyecto Paleoecológico Maya, un esfuerzo de investigación multi-disciplinaria dirigido por Kevin Johnston. ... La fuente principal de minerales ferromagnéticos de la selva tropical es el suelo y la fuente de minerales magnéticos en la ...
The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reconstruct h... more The analysis of faecal stanols in lake sediment cores offers a novel opportunity to reconstruct human population change, assuming that variability in faecal stanol concentration is a reliable proxy for relative human populations. The ancient lowland Maya of Mesoamerica represents an important ancient society whose demographic dynamics in many locations remain uncertain. We apply the faecal stanol proxy to a sediment core retrieved from a lake adjacent to the archaeological site of Itzan, an ancient population centre in the southwestern Maya lowlands. The sedimentary faecal stanol record from Laguna Itzan implies substantial centennial-and millennial-scale changes in local human populations from 3300 cal years BP to the present. Variability in faecal stanol concentrations is broadly consistent with archaeological evidence for regional societal change across the Maya lowlands, but also implies an earlier presence of humans at this site than is currently indicated in the Itzan archaeological record. We find evidence for high-frequency variability in coprostanol concentrations during the Maya Preclassic period, which we infer represents centennial-scale shifts in settlement patterns associated with changes in agricultural and land use patterns. Given Preclassic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, we observe lower-than-expected Classic-period faecal peak stanol concentrations, and these may partly be a result of either use of human waste for fertiliser or reduced soil erosion or both. Three periods of inferred population decline are associated with palaeoclimate evidence for a drying climate, specifically during the Terminal Classic (1220-1050 cal yr BP) and the Protoclassic 2 (1860-1670 cal yr BP), as well as the less well-studied drought between 3330 and 2900 cal yr BP during the Early to Middle Preclassic periods. An additional decline and hiatus in coprostanol input coincides with a period of anomalously wet climate in the Late Preclassic. These linkages suggest that climatic change and variability could have played a role in demographic change at multiple points in the evolution of Maya civilisation. Our work shows that faecal stanols are valuable proxies for past human population dynamics, and their relation to climatic change, in Mesoamerica.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Uploads