Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use

• Published in: Global and planetary change 2016-03, Vol.138, p.82-92
• Main Authors: Anderson, Lysanna, Wahl, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biomass burning; Charcoal; Climate; Control systems; Fires; Human impacts; Land use; Maya lowlands; Prehistoric Maya land use; Soot
• ISSN: 0921-8181; 1872-6364
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.09.012

Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores. The records extend from the early Holocene, through the full arc of Maya prehistory, the Colonial, and post-Colonial periods (~9000calyrBP to the present). (Hereafter BP) The study sites, Lago Paixban and Lago Puerto Arturo, are located in northern Peten, Guatemala. Results provide the first quantitative analysis from the region demonstrating that frequent fires have occurred in the closed canopy forests since at least the early Holocene (~9000BP), prior to occupation by sedentary agriculturalists. Following the arrival of agriculture around 4600BP, the system transitioned from climate controlled to anthropogenic control. During the Maya period, changes in fire regime are muted and do not appear to be driven by changes in climate conditions. Low charcoal influx and fire frequency in the Earliest Preclassic period suggest that land use strategies may have included intensive agriculture much earlier than previously thought. Preliminary results showing concentrations of soot/black-carbon during the middle and late Preclassic periods are lower than modern background values, providing intriguing implications regarding the efficiency of Maya fuel consumption. •Frequent fires occurred in closed canopy rainforest during the mid-Holocene.•Biomass burning reduced during Maya period relative to pre-agricultural period.•Low rates of burning suggest early use of intensive agricultural strategies.