7 Population Dynamics and Its Relation to Ancient Landscapes in the Northwestern Maya Lowlands: Evaluating Resilience and Vulnerability

ABSTRACT In this article we present for discussion certain aspects of settlement and paleo‐environmental data obtained over the last few years for the northwestern Maya lowlands. Accordingly, our goal is to identify a point of departure for future research by presenting a list of possible “environme...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archeological papers of the American Anthropological Association 2014-03, Vol.24 (1), p.84-100
Main Authors: Liendo, Rodrigo, Solleiro-Rebolledo, Elizabeth, Solis-Castillo, Berenice, Sedov, Sergei, Ortiz-Pérez, Arturo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community
Divergence
Land use
northwestern Maya lowlands
paleoenviromental reconstruction
Population
Regions
settlement patterns
Soils
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Summary:ABSTRACT In this article we present for discussion certain aspects of settlement and paleo‐environmental data obtained over the last few years for the northwestern Maya lowlands. Accordingly, our goal is to identify a point of departure for future research by presenting a list of possible “environmental attractors” that might later be used for a better understanding of the seemingly divergent trajectories shown by ancient communities located in different physical settings—particularly in the Sierras region and the Usumacinta plains, Mexico. Our study is based on the paleo‐pedological record of the region. Paleosols are good paleo‐environmental proxies and, with the climate information, they are indicators of past human activities and land use. In the Maya lowlands, they have been used extensively to register changes in environmental conditions and human impact on the soil cover. Nevertheless, this study represents the first attempt in that same direction in the northwestern Maya lowlands.
ISSN:1551-823X
1551-8248
DOI:10.1111/apaa.12031