DOCSLIB.ORG

Water Management Adaptations in Nonindustrial Complex Societies: an Archaeological Perspective Author(S): Vernon L

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Water Management Adaptations in Nonindustrial Complex Societies: an Archaeological Perspective Author(S): Vernon L Water Management Adaptations in Nonindustrial Complex Societies: An Archaeological Perspective Author(s): Vernon L. Scarborough Source: Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 3 (1991), pp. 101-154 Published by: Springer Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20170214 Accessed: 20/01/2010 10:34 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=springer. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. 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 [email protected]. Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Archaeological Method and Theory. http://www.jstor.org 3 Water Management Adaptations in Nonindustrial Complex Societies: An Archaeological Perspective VERNON L. SCARBOROUGH Land management unites the household; water management units the community. ?Beardsley et al. 1959, p. 126 Water management is the interruption and redirection of the natural movement or collection of water by society. It is a topic that most archaeologists are forced to address whether in the acquisi tion of field data or in the preparation of a broad theoretical treatise. The following presentation will review and assess the many ways in which water ismanipulated by society. The chapter is organized into five parts: (1) physical properties, (2)water management techniques, (3) social costs of water management, (4) archaeological case studies, and (5) conclusions. My purpose is to evaluate the significance of water management by examining salient aspects of several nonindustrial complex societies. This is not another attempt to critique Wittfogel's Oriental Despotism-, it is, rather, a broad-based literature review canvassing old and new finds and interpretations associated with the manipula tion of water. Generally the examples draw from primary state cen ters of sociopolitical development, though less complex cases are examined. The chapter provides a methodological framework for in terpreting the variability in these water systems. The presentation covers a range of human variability in the manip ulation of water and emphasizes the various methodological and theoretical points developed in the "Social Cost" section and the "Archaeology Case Studies" section. In order to assess the environ mental and social forces that facilitate adaptation, early techniques 101 102 Vernon L. Scarborough of water management are examined. The conditions under which complex water management schemes are developed, accepted, and used, regardless of their origin, receive considerable attention. Physical Properties Characteristics of Water For organic matter, the presence of water is life itself. Hu mans require a minimum of 2 to 3 liters of water a day in a settled environment under normal living conditions (White et al. 1972:252). Clearly, this amount can vary with levels of work activity, physical differences in body type, and environmental conditions. In the dry sands of the Negev Desert, home of some of the earliest successful adaptations to severe aridity by the settled Nabataeans (Eadie and Oleson 1986; Oleson 1988), present-day nomadic families (six indi viduals, two camels, one donkey, two dogs, and ten sheep) survive on 18 m3 of water a year (Evenari et al. 1971:150). This can be jux taposed with the excessive consumption habits of the average U.S. citizen, who uses more than 225 liters of water daily (White et al. 1972:Table D). Although water has several unusual physical properties, two of them are particularly important for any discussion of settled com munity life. Fluidity is that condition of a liquid which permits its ease of transport. Water does not usually require beasts of burden or wheeled vehicles for its immediate relocation, and thus its cost to the consumer is intrinsically low. Gravity flow is the characteristic of a fluid to move from higher to lower elevations via a path of least resistance. It is the cardinal principle in the manipulation of water within a canal scheme, but the primary obstacle to water control in rugged areas. The properties of fluidity and gravity flow are responsible for two additional conditions imposed by human managers. The first in volves the many mechanical problems associated with lifting water vertically. Its bulk and unwieldy dimensions require sealed contain ers for this movement. Prior to the widespread use of hand pumps, siphon tubes, and Archimedes' screw, stagnant water was pulled up ward by hand or with the use of a simple manual device called a shaduf. Still used widely today in the Middle East and in antiquity Water Management Adaptations 103 in pharaonic Egypt, the shaduf takes advantage of a counterweighted lever or pole with a dipping line and bucket attached at the far end. Another device of Persian origin and dating from before 300 b.c. is the noria or current wheel (Glick 1970; cf. Hsu 1980:275). This ani mal-powered device with attached buckets moves water from a lower point to a higher point. Lifting techniques used by early states, then, were simple and labor costly. A second condition imposed by fluidity and gravity flow is the ability to divert or abruptly cut the supply of water to a consumer. Diversion dams and conventional reservoirs with sluice gates permit individuals or a small group of users to treat water as a commodity in negotiating with other users. Unlike many other commodities, water is frequently a single-source medium. The initial investment in con trolling water, particularly apparent in irrigation schemes, is to local ize points of distribution through sluice gates and related features. Climate and Geomorphology Water use is partially conditioned by the natural environment. Al though most environments can be transformed into agricultural set tings, given significant technological and labor investments associ ated with water manipulation (Ferdon's "agricultural potential"; Ferdon 1959), regional differences in climate and geomorphology dic tate the amount of work necessary. Tolerable climatic conditions for agriculture are based on precipitation rates and temperature (i.e., evaporation and transpiration rates). By scheduling around seasonal fluctuations in these variables, water can be manipulated to an agri cultural end within an otherwise inhospitable natural setting. Geo morphology is more difficult to modify and represents the principal obstacle to water control in a climatically acceptable environment. The primary geomorphological variables conditioning water manage ment are topography and soil permeability (the latter measured by rates of seepage). Complicated geomorphological structure is some times the impetus for hydraulic innovation when population de mands reach a threshold. A dichotomy exists between the natural environments in which early complex societies emerged. Complicated experiments in water management occurred in arid regions with both rugged and low re lief, as well as in humid settings with gentle topographic contours. 104 Vernon L. Scarborough Arid regions. In the New World, the most celebrated early centers of complicated, regionwide water management appeared in coastal Peru (and later in highland Peru, Ecuador, and northern Bolivia), highland Mexico, and the American Southwest (Donkin 1979; Price 1971). In the first two areas, the topography is precipitous and as sociated with relatively small, less consequential drainages, espe cially when compared with Old World civilizations. In Peru and to a degree in highland Mexico, water management systems utilized the topography as an advantage in tapping rapidly moving water over steep gradients. Terraces, dams, aqueducts, and canal networks took on a valley-limited drainage focus knit together by empires. The seats of primary state development in the Old World were Egypt (Butzer 1976), Iraq (R. M. Adams 1981), southern Pakistan (Allchin and Allchin 1982), and west-central China (cf. Hsu 1980). In each instance, amajor river meandered through these arid territories. Although sometimes associated with unanticipated flood levels, these rivers represent not only permanent sources of water but also abundant stores. The topographic relief associated with them in prox imity to the early state is gentle, particularly when compared with New World examples. This condition allowed extensive canalization in most cases, restricted only by the breadth of the floodplains defin ing these old, slow-moving drainages. Although elaborate diversion dams were clearly perfected, conventional dams with reservoirs or sophisticated terracing systems (characteristic of the Peruvians) were little deployed (Tigris-Euphrates notwithstanding; see below). Civilization was in part
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Archaeology of Yucatán
    The Archaeology of YucatÁn Edited by Travis W. Stanton Archaeopress Pre-Columbian Archaeology 1 Archaeopress Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978 1 78491 008 2 ISBN 978 1 78491 009 9 (e-Pdf) © Archaeopress and the individual authors 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. Printed in England by CMP (UK) Ltd This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com Chapter 4 Xcoch: Home of Ancient Maya Rain Gods and Water Managers Nicholas P. Dunning, Eric Weaver, Michael P. Smyth, and David Ortegón Zapata “The water was in a deep, stony basin running under a shelf of overhanging rock…the sight of it was more welcome to us than gold or rubies.” (Stephens 1843:216) So wrote the American explorer John Lloyd Stephens surfaces and along lines of weakness created by fracturing after following local guides through a series of tortuously has created a landscape with radically varying drainage narrow and descending passageways in a cave system at and surface characteristics (Dunning et al. 1998). Drainage the ancient ruins of Xcoch, Yucatán. The deep cave at across most of the lowlands is primarily subterranean. Xcoch is clearly a place of ancient magic. Its entrance is Across the northern karst plains of the Yucatán peninsula, a hole at the bottom of a sinkhole – the “Xcoch Grotto” many sinkholes breach the water table (cenotes) providing – that yawns like the mouth of the Witz Monster of access to perennial water.
    [Show full text]
  • Cancún, Cozumel & the Yucatán
    01_58796x_ffirs.qxd 7/20/05 6:57 PM Page i Cancún, Cozumel & the Yucatán 2006 by David Baird & Lynne Bairstow Here’s what the critics say about Frommer’s: “Amazingly easy to use. Very portable, very complete.” —Booklist “Detailed, accurate, and easy-to-read information for all price ranges.” —Glamour Magazine “Hotel information is close to encyclopedic.” —Des Moines Sunday Register “Frommer’s Guides have a way of giving you a real feel for a place.” —Knight Ridder Newspapers 01_58796x_ffirs.qxd 7/20/05 6:57 PM Page ii 01_58796x_ffirs.qxd 7/20/05 6:57 PM Page i Cancún, Cozumel & the Yucatán 2006 by David Baird & Lynne Bairstow Here’s what the critics say about Frommer’s: “Amazingly easy to use. Very portable, very complete.” —Booklist “Detailed, accurate, and easy-to-read information for all price ranges.” —Glamour Magazine “Hotel information is close to encyclopedic.” —Des Moines Sunday Register “Frommer’s Guides have a way of giving you a real feel for a place.” —Knight Ridder Newspapers 01_58796x_ffirs.qxd 7/20/05 6:57 PM Page ii Published by: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 Copyright © 2005 Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authoriza- tion through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978/750-8400, fax 978/646-8600.
    [Show full text]
  • The PARI Journal Vol. XX No. 2
    ThePARIJournal A quarterly publication of the Ancient Cultures Institute Volume XX, No. 2, Fall 2019 Dedicated to Yaxchilan from the Perspective of Guatemala: the memory of Michael D. Coe New Data on Settlement, Fortifications, (1929-2019) and Sculptural Monuments In This Issue: Yaxchilan from Andrew K. Scherer the Perspective of Charles Golden Guatemala: New Omar Alcover Firpi Data on Settlement, Whittaker Schroder Fortifications, and Sculptural Mónica Urquizú Monuments Edwin Román by Andrew K. Scherer In this paper we offer an update and the fantastical adventure story of Dana et al. synthesis of what is currently known re- and Ginger Lamb ([1951]1984). Embedded PAGES 1-14 garding the settlement, fortifications, and within this largely fictionalized account • monuments found in the portion of the were visits made by Dana Lamb and his Classic period Maya kingdom of Yaxchilan Mexican travel companions to a yet-un- Appreciating Mike: that lies within the modern borders of known site in Guatemala (likely to the east A Remembrance of Guatemala. The settlement, defenses, and or southeast of La Pasadita) that was the Michael D. Coe sculpture pertain primarily to the reigns of source of at least two looted monuments by Shield Jaguar III, Bird Jaguar IV, and Shield from the reign of Shield Jaguar IV that are Stephen Houston Jaguar IV, from c. AD 680–810 of the Late now held in private collections (Scherer et PAGES 15-27 Classic period. At this time the Yaxchilan al. 2017). Ian Graham (2010:453-467) was • rulers extended the physical borders of the first professional fieldworker to visit The Classic Mayan their kingdom to the north, west, and east and document Yaxchilan-affiliated sites in Causative into what is today the Sierra del Lacandon Guatemala.
    [Show full text]
  • Architectural Survey at Chichen Itza
    ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY AT CHICHEN ITZA George F. Andrews University of Oregon 1 z SITE: CHICHEN ITZA NUMBER; 16Qd(9):l DATE: 1991 BACKGROUND Although Chichen Itza is assumed to have been seen by the Spanish conquistadores as early as 1528 and several of its buildings were described by Bishop Landa (1566), its history as far as architecture is concerned properly begins with Stephens' and Catherwood's visit to the site in 1842. They were followed by Charnay (1860, 1882), LePlongeon (1879, etc.), Maudslay (1889-1902, 1906, 1910), Breton (1900-1904), and E. Seler (t^iT ). Commencing in the early 19205, the Carnegie Institution of Washington initiated a series of excavation and restoration projects at the site which involved a large number of individuals, including Jean Chariot, S.G. Morley, Earl Morris, Karl Ruppert, P.S. Martin, Gustav Stromsvik, J.R. Bolles, R.T. Smith, Oliver Ricketson, H.E.D. Pollock, J.E.S. Thompson, George Vaillant, and R. Wauchop. Overlapping with the work of this group were a number of restoration projects carried out under the auspices of INAH, Mexico. More recent studies have been carried out by Thompson (1945), Ruppert (1952), Tozzer (1957), Cohodas (1978), Lincoln (1986) and others. I first visited the site in 1960 but the bulk of my architectural data was recorded in 1973, 1981, and 1983. Because the present report is concerned primarily with the architecture at Chichen Itza, the references cited above do not include the names of those who have focussed their attention on the art, ceramics, "Toltec" and/or "Itza" historical relationships, and other areas of specialization.
    [Show full text]
  • Ceremonial Plazas in the Cival Region, Guatemala
    Monumental Foundations: An Investigation of the Preclassic Development of Civic- Ceremonial Plazas in the Cival Region, Guatemala by Kaitlin R. Ahern May 2020 A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology This page is intentionally left blank. ii Copyright by Kaitlin R. Ahern 2020 II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: There is a long list of individuals and organizations that have both contributed to my formation as both an archaeologist and as a scholar. I am immensely grateful to my advisor, Dr. Timothy Chevral and committee members Dr. Douglas Perrelli and Dr. Sarunas Milisauskas, for their guidance and assistance in the completion of my doctorate. I am thankful to Warren Barbour for warmly accepting me into the Master’s program at the University at Buffalo and welcoming me into UB’s Teotihuacan Archaeology Laboratory. I will always treasure my memories with him discussing the formation of cities and states, especially urban planning and Teotihuacan. He will be greatly missed. Timothy Chevral graciously became my new chair once Warren Barbour retired. Throughout my graduate school education, he taught a wide array of courses that served to enrich my anthropological and archaeological understanding. His courses also greatly enhanced my knowledge regarding archaeological theory and introduced me to the archaeological sciences. Douglas Perrelli provided me with a North American perspective to my research and spent time helping me prepare for my advanced exams. Sarunas Milisauskas taught me about the history of archaeology and how it has impacted archaeological approaches in other countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Program of the 79Th Annual Meeting
    Program of the 79th Annual Meeting April 23–27, 2014 Austin, Texas THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Society for American Archaeology provides a fo- rum for the dissemination of knowledge and discussion. The views expressed at the sessions are solely those of the speakers and the Society does not endorse, approve, or censor them. Descriptions of events and titles are those of the orga- nizers, not the Society. Program of the 79th Annual Meeting Published by the Society for American Archaeology 1111 14th Street NW, Suite 800 Washington DC 20005 5622 USA Tel: +1 202/789 8200 Fax: +1 202/789 0284 Email: [email protected] WWW: http://www.saa.org Copyright © 2014 Society for American Archaeology. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted in any form or by any means without prior permission from the publisher. Contents 4 Awards Presentation & Annual Business Meeting Agenda 5 2014 Award Recipients 12 Maps 17 Meeting Organizers, SAA Board of Directors, & SAA Staff 19 General Information 21 Featured Sessions 23 Summary Schedule 27 A Word about the Sessions 28 Student Day 2014 29 Sessions At A Glance 37 Program 214 SAA Awards, Scholarships, & Fellowships 222 Presidents of SAA 222 Annual Meeting Sites 224 Exhibit Map 225 Exhibitor Directory 236 SAA Committees and Task Forces 241 Index of Participants 4 Program of the 79th Annual Meeting Awards Presentation & Annual Business Meeting April 25, 2014 5 PM Call to Order Call for Approval of Minutes of the 2013 Annual Business Meeting Remarks President Jeffrey H. Altschul Reports Treasurer Alex W. Barker Secretary Christina B.
    [Show full text]
  • Survey of the Central Portion of the State of Yucatan
    Results of Survey in Central Yucatán, México Clifford T. Brown (Florida Atlantic University), Carlos Peraza Lope (Centro INAH Yucatán), Walter R. T. Witschey (Science Museum of Virginia) and Rhianna Rogers (Florida Atlantic University) Presented at the Symposium “Regional and Community Organization in the Northern Lowlands: Papers in Honor of the Life and Legacy of Ed Kurjack” celebrated at 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 29th, 2006 ABSTRACT In 2005, we performed both purposive and systematic survey in the central portion of the state of Yucatán, México. Our project area extended from Acanceh in the northwest to Yaxuná in the northeast, south to Peto, west to Maní, and then returned north to Acanceh after passing through the site of Mayapán. We investigated approximately 35 sites, most of which were previously unreported, and we systematically surveyed approximately 10 km of transects, finding a relatively high density of rural settlement. The survey provided significant new information about settlement patterns in this key central area of the Maya lowlands. INTRODUCTION From July 5th to August 15th of 2005, we conducted an archaeological survey in the central portion of the state of Yucatán. We conducted both purposive site survey and systematic rural settlement survey. We located about 24 sites and visited a dozen previously known sites. The exact count of sites is necessarily imprecise because of inherent problems of site definition in lowland Maya archaeology.1 In addition, in certain cases, we could not determine whether local archaeologists previously knew of a site. On our systematic survey transects, we found a high density of residential settlement.
    [Show full text]
  • Cosmology and Society: Household Ritual Among the Terminal Classic Maya
    COSMOLOGY AND SOCIETY: HOUSEHOLD RITUAL AMONG THE TERMINAL CLASSIC MAYA PEOPLE OF YAXHA (ca. A.D. 850-950), GUATEMALA by Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz Licentiate, San Carlos University of Guatemala, 2003 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Dietrich school of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2013 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz It was defended on April, 2013 and approved by: Olivier de Montmollin (Committee Chair), Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Robert D. Drennan, Distinguished Professor, Department of Anthropology Marc Bermann, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Lara Putnam, Associate Professor, Department of History ii Copyright © by Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz 2013 iii COSMOLOGY AND SOCIETY: HOUSEHOLD RITUAL AMONG THE TERMINAL CLASSIC MAYA PEOPLE OF YAXHA (ca. A.D. 850-950), GUATEMALA Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2013 This study of domestic ritual and symbolism centers on the ancient Maya kingdom of Yaxha in northeastern Guatemala, during the last part of the Classic period (A.D. 850-950/1000). Classic Maya high- culture functioned within a dynastic cosmology that framed royalty’s power. The central question in this dissertation is ‘how did the non-royal population participate and interact with this dynastic cosmology?’ Exploring some possible ways in which ancient Yaxhaeans participated and interacted with the local dynastic cosmology, I have hypothesized three possible behaviors derived from ethnographic studies: active engagement, resistance, and passive compliance. A comparative study of ritual practices and symbolism in ten residences of different social ranks provides the grounds for the discussion.
    [Show full text]
  • University of California, San Diego
    UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The social implications of ritual behavior in the Maya Lowlands : a perspective from Minanha, Belize Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2488f75d Author Schwake, Sonja Andrea Publication Date 2008 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO The Social Implications of Ritual Behavior in the Maya Lowlands: A Perspective from Minanha, Belize. A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology by Sonja Andrea Schwake Committee in charge: Professor Geoffrey E. Braswell, Chair Professor Guillermo Algaze Professor Paul Goldstein Professor Elizabeth Newsome Professor Eric Van Young 2008 Copyright Sonja Andrea Schwake, 2008 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Sonja Andrea Schwake is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2008 iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my mother, Janja Van Lehn (Janette Schwake). Her endless support, love, and encouragement have helped me on so many occasions and I could not have completed this without her. She
    [Show full text]
  • Geographic and Environmental Influence on Maya Settlement Patterns of the Northwest Yucatan: an Explanation for the Sparsely Settled Western Cenote Zone
    University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2012 Geographic And Environmental Influence On Maya Settlement Patterns Of The Northwest Yucatan: An Explanation For The Sparsely Settled Western Cenote Zone Patrick Rohrer University of Central Florida Part of the Anthropology Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Rohrer, Patrick, "Geographic And Environmental Influence On Maya Settlement Patterns Of The Northwest Yucatan: An Explanation For The Sparsely Settled Western Cenote Zone" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2415. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2415 GEOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON MAYA SETTLEMENT PATTERNS OF THE NORTHWEST YUCATAN: AN EXPLANATION FOR THE SPARSELY SETTLED WESTERN CENOTE ZONE by PATRICK C. ROHRER B.S. University of Central Florida, 2007 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2012 © 2012 Patrick C. Rohrer ii ABSTRACT Most settlement pattern research and GIS analysis of the ancient Maya of the Northern Yucatan have focused on water availability in a dry landscape where cenotes are often the only water source. While water is of paramount importance, permanent settlement secondarily requires farmable soil, a resource often as precious as water in many parts of the Yucatan.
    [Show full text]
  • A Dissertation Submitted to The
    A Landscape Archaeology Approach to Understanding Household Water Management Practices of the Ancient Lowland Maya A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Geography of the College of Arts and Sciences by Jeffrey L Brewer M.A. University of Cincinnati B.A. University of Cincinnati March 2017 Committee Chair: Nicholas P. Dunning, Ph.D. Abstract For the ancient Maya, the collection and storage of rainfall were necessary requirements for sustainable occupation in the interior portions of the lowlands in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. The importance of managing water resources at the household level, in the form of small natural or culturally modified tanks, has recently been recognized as a spatially and temporally widespread complement to a reliance on the larger, centralized reservoirs that occupied most urban centers. Emerging evidence indicates that these residential tanks functioned to satisfy a variety of domestic water needs beginning in the Middle Preclassic (1000 – 400 BC) period. The research presented in this dissertation aims to clarify the role of small topographical depressions in ancient Maya domestic water management utilizing a combination of satellite remote sensing and archaeological excavation to identify, survey, and evaluate small household tanks. The three research articles included here focus on the lidar identification and subsequent archaeological investigation of these features at the central lowland sites of Yaxnohcah in southern Campeche, Mexico and Medicinal Trail in northwestern Belize. In addition to clarifying the origin and functions of these reservoirs, their role within the broader mosaic of ancient Maya water management infrastructure and practices, particularly within the Elevated Interior Region (EIR) of the Yucatán Peninsula is also explored.
    [Show full text]
  • Maya Prehispanic Occupation in Yaxha, Northeast Peten
    Contributions to the Archaeology Of Tikal, Naranjo-Sa’aal, Yaxha, and Nakum Northeast Region of Peten, Guatemala Maya Prehispanic Occupation in Yaxha, Northeast Peten, Guatemala: A Synthesis Bernard Hermes Instituto de Antropología e Historia de Guatemala, Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte Introduction early activity mainly in the southern and western area of the epicenter of the site, which makes it In 1990 the Institute of Anthropology and History possible to ascertain that the first settlement was of Guatemala (IDAEH), as part of the Ministry of focused within the aforementioned area. Samples Culture, began a project of archaeological research of Mamom pottery were recovered in the northern and conservation in the northeastern region of area of the West Group. Peten, at the Maya sites of Yaxha and Topoxte The North Acropolis is located at a higher (Figures 1 and 2). Initially the excavations in Yaxha elevation of the natural terrain; it is important to were carried out in locations related to Temple mention that a few sherds of Mamom pottery were 216 (Hermes et al. 1997), the Lake Causeway, and found in relation to the northern temple of the Vía 5 (Hermes et al. 1999). Important information Acropolis, indicating a locus of occupation related was collected from a general test-pitting program to the first Yaxha inhabitants; however, most of the at the epicenter of Yaxha, including excavations samples belonged to the following Yancotil phase. in several chultuns. Later, from 2001 to 2006, During Yancotil times, the natural landscape in conservation works at Yaxha were completed central Yaxha consisted of inclined relief and under sub-contract in the the North Acropolis, irregular outcrops of bedrock originating near the the Maler Group, and the South Acropolis and its shore of Lake Yaxha.
    [Show full text]