Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T22:05:43.987Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Paleoecology and Ancient Settlement of the Petexbatun Region, Guatemala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Nicholas Dunning ,
Timothy Beach  and
David Rue
Nicholas Dunning
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0131, USA
Timothy Beach
Affiliation:
Science, Technology, and International Affairs, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
David Rue
Affiliation:
Archaeological and Historical Consultants, Inc., P.O. Box 482, Centre Hall, PA 16828, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Petexbatun region has a series of upland ridges surrounded by lowland wetlands. In Preclassic times, ancient Maya peoples began colonizing the region along waterways. Although few in number, they cleared large areas of upland tropical forest for agriculture and induced significant soil erosion. Population contracted in the region during the Early Classic, and mature tropical forest growth returned. During the Late Classic, population expanded rapidly across the region, forest clearance resumed, and desirable, intensively cultivated, upland areas were divided by an elaborate wall system. Upland agriculture during the Late Classic included the use of several types of terracing that significantly checked soil erosion during this period. Considerable variation may have existed between the urban agriculture practiced in the region's three major centers—Dos Pilas, Tamarindito, and Aguateca.

Type
Special Section: The Vanderbilt Petexbatun Archaeological Project, 1989–1994
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , Fall 1997 , pp. 255 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adams, Richard E.W. 1983 Ancient Land Use and Culture History in the Pasion River Region. In Prehistoric Settlement Patterns, edited by Vogt, Evon Z. and Leventhal, Richard, pp. 319–336. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Beach, Timothy, and Dunning, Nicholas 1995 Ancient Maya Terracing and Modern Soil Conservation in the Peten Rainforest of Guatemala. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 50: 138–145.Google Scholar
Beach, Timothy, and Dunning, Nicholas 1997 An Ancient Maya Reservoir and Dam at Tamarindito, El Petén, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 8: 20–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, S.C., and Jackson, M.L. 1957 Fractionation of Soil Phosphorus. Soil Science 84: 133–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chinchilla, Oswaldo 1993 Mapeo en grupos habitacionales de Tamarindito. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #5, Quinta Temporada, edited by Valdés, Juan Antonio, Foias, Antonia, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Demarest, Arthur, pp. 111–115. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Culbert, T. Patrick, Levi, Laura J., and Cruz, Lionel 1990 Lowland Maya Wetland Agriculture: The Rio Azul Agronomy Program. In Vision and Revision in Maya Studies, edited by Clancy, Flora S. and Harrison, Peter D., pp. 115–124. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur A. 1992 Ideology in Ancient Maya Cultural Evolution: The Dynamics of Galactic Politics. In Ideology and Pre-Columbian Civilizations, edited by Demarest, Arthur A. and Conrad, Geoffrey, pp. 135–158. School of American Research, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur A. 1996 The Maya State: Centralized or Segmentary—Forum Closing Comment. Current Anthropology 37: 821–824.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur A. 1997 The Vanderbilt Petexbatun Regional Archaeological Project 1989–1994: Overview, History, and Major Results of a Multidisciplinary Study of the Classic Maya Collapse. Ancient Mesoamerica 8: 209–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demarest, Arthur A., and Dunning, Nicholas P. 1990 Ecología y guerra en la región de la Pasión. In Proyecto Arqueológico Régional Petexbatun, informe Preliminar #2, Segunda Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur A. and Houston, Stephen D., pp. 595–606. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Demarest, Aruthur A., O'Mansky, Matt, Wolley, Claudia, Tuerenhout, Dirk Van, Inomata, Takeshi, Palka, Joel, and Escobedo, Héctor 1997 Classic Maya Defensive Systems and Warfare in the Petexbatun: Archaeological Evidence and Interpretations. Ancient Mesoamerica 8: 229–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demarest, Arthur, Valdés, Juan Antonio, Inomata, Takeshi, Palka, Joel, Escobedo, Héctor, Brady, James, Dunning, Nicholas, Killion, Thomas, Foias, Antonia, Beekman, Chris, Chinchilla, Oswaldo, Chatham, Robert, Verhagen, Inez, Stiver, Laura, and Morgan, Kim 1991 Conclusiones preliminares e interpretaciones de la temporada de campo 1991 del Proyecto Arqueológico Petexbatun. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #3, Tercera Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Palka, Joel, pp. 896–924. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1991 El uso prehispanico de la tierra y la historia cultural de la región del Río de la Pasión. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #3, Tercera Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Palka, Joel, pp. 887–95. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1992a Umwelt, Siedlungweise, Ernaehrung und Lebensunderhalt im Maya-Tiefland Waerend der Klassik (250–900 n. Chr.). In Die Welt der Maya, edited by Eggebrecht, Eva, Eggebrecht, Arne, and Grube, Nikolai, 92–106. Verlag Phillip von Zumbrow, Mainz am Rhein.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1992b Lords of the Hills: Ancient Maya Settlement of the Puuc Region, Yucatan, Mexico. Prehistory Press, Madison, WI.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1993a Ambiente, patrón de asentamiento, y agricultura en las tierras bajas mayas durante el período clásico (250–900 DC). Apuntes Arqueológicos 3: 123–134.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1993b Análisis de fosfato de la tierra arqueológica y el patrón agrícola en la región de Petexbatun. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Prelimlinar #5, Quinta Temporada, edited by Valdés, Juan Antonio, Foias, Antonia, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Demarest, Arthur, pp. 165–170. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1994 Ancient Maya Anthrosols: Soil Phosphate Testing and Land Use. In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Pedo-Archaeology, edited by Foss, John E., Timpson, Michael E., and Morris, Michael W., pp. 203–210. University of Tennessee Agricultural Experimentation Station, Knoxville.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P. 1996 An Examination of Regional Variability in the Prehispanic Maya Agricultural Landscape. In The Managed Mosaic: Ancient Maya Agriculture and Resource Management, edited by Fedick, Scott L., pp. 53–68. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P., and Beach, Timothy 1994 Soil Erosion, Slope Management, and Ancient Terracing in the Maya Lowlands. Latin American Antiquity 5: 51–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P., Beach, Timothy, and Rue, David 1995 Investigaciones de la paleoecología y sistemas agrícolas antiguas de la región Petexbatun: Temporada 1994. In Proyecto Ar queológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #6, Sexta Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur A., Valdés, Juan Antonio, and Escobedo, Héctor, pp. 146–159. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P., Díez, Lionel E. Paiz, Beach, Timothy, and Nicholas, James 1993 Investigaciones de terrazas agrícolas antiguas durante la temporada 1993. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #5, Quinta Temporada, edited by Valdés, Juan Antonio, Foias, Antonia, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Demarest, Arthur, pp. 171–182. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P., Rue, David, and Beach, Timothy 1991 Ecología y patrón de asentamiento en la región de Petexbatun: Résultes preliminares de la temporada 1991. In Proyecto Arqueologico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #3, Tercera Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Palka, Joel, pp. 829–847. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P., Rue, David, Beach, Timothy, Covich, Alan, and Traverse, Alfred 1997 Human-Environment Interactions in a Tropical Watershed: The Paleoecology of Laguna Tamarindito, Peten, Guatemala. Journal of Field Archaeology, in press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas P., Secaira, Estuardo, and Demarest, Arthur 1992 The Petexbatun Region and the Peten: A Legacy of Human Impact. Report submitted to U.S. Aid for International Development, Guatemala. On file, Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.Google Scholar
Dunning, Nicholas, Wright, Lori, Emery, Katherine, Secaira, Estuardo, Lentz, David, Beach, Timothy, and Rue, David 1992 Ecología, agricultura y nutrición en los siglos 7 y 8 en la región de Petexbatun. In V Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, edited by Laporte, Juan Pedro, Escobedo, Héctor, and de Brady, Sandra V., pp. 163–171. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala.Google Scholar
Eaton, Jack D. 1975 Ancient Agricultural Farmsteads in the Rio Bec Region of Yucatan. In Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 27: 56–82. Berkeley.Google Scholar
Eidt, Robert C. 1977 Detection and Examination of Anthrosols by Phosphate Analysis. Science 197: 1327–1333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eidt, Robert C. 1984 Advances in Abandoned Settlement Analysis: Applications to Prehistoric Anthrosols in Colombia, South America. Center for Latin American Studies, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.Google Scholar
Emery, Katherine 1991 Análisis preliminar de los restos óseos de fauna de la región de Petexbatun. In Proyeclo Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #3, Tercera Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Palka, Joel, pp. 813–828. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Fedick, Scott 1994 Ancient Maya Agricultural Terracing in the Upper Belize River Area. Ancient Mesoamerica 5: 107–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fedick, Scott (editor) 1996 The Managed Mosaic: Ancient Maya Agriculture and Resource Use. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Fritz, Gail 1994 Are the First American Farmers Getting Younger? Current Anthropology 35: 305–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, Ian 1967 Archaeological Investigations in El Peten, Guatemala. Publication No. 33. Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA.Google Scholar
Hansen, B.C.S. 1990 Pollen Stratigraphy of Laguna de Cocos. In Ancient Maya Wetland Agriculture: Excavations on Albion Island, Northern Belize, edited by Pohl, Mary D., pp. 155–186. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Hoddell, David A., Curtis, Jason H., and Brenner, Mark 1995 Possible Role of Climate in the Collapse of Maya Civilization. Nature 375: 391–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 1993 Hieroglyphs and History at Dos Pilas: Dynastic Politics of the Classic Maya. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen, Chatham, Robert, Ponciano, Erik, and Wright, Lori 1990 Mapeo y sondeos en Tamarindito. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #2, Segunda Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur and Houston, Stephen, pp. 369–392. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi 1995 Archaeological Investigations at the Fortified Center of Aguateca, El Petén, Guatemala: Implications for the Study of the Classic Maya Collapse. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Jones, John 1994 Pollen Evidence for Early Settlement and Agriculture in Northern Belize. Palynology 18: 205–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Killion, Thomas W., and Dunning, Nicholas P. 1992 Land Use, Land Holding, and War Among the Late Classic Maya: A Study of Prehistoric Wall Systems on the Petexbatun Escarpment, Peten, Guatemala. Paper presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Killion, Thomas W., Verhagen, Inez, Tuerenhout, Dirk Van, Triadan, Daniela, Hamerlynck, Lisa, McDermott, Mathew, and Genoves, José 1991 Reporte de la temporada 1991 del recorrido arqueológico intersitio de Petexbatun. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #3, Tercera Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Palka, Joel, pp. 588–645. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Lillios, Katina T. 1992 Phosphate Fractionation of Soils at Agroal, Portugal. American Antiquity 57: 495–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAnany, Patricia 1995 Living with the Ancestors: Kinship and Kingship in Ancient Maya Society. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Piperno, Dolores 1994 On the Emergence of Agriculture in the New World. Current Anthropology 35: 637–639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pohl, Mary D., Pope, Kevin O., Jones, John G., Jacob, John S., Piperno, Dolores R., deFrance, Susan D., Lentz, David L., Gifford, John A., Danforth, Marie E., and Josserand, J. Kathryn 1996 Early Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Latin American Antiquity 7: 355–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, Don S. 1993 Eighth-Century Physical Geography, Environment, and Natural Resources in the Maya Lowlands. In Lowland Maya Civilization in the Eighth Century A.D., edited by Sabloff, Jeremy A. and Henderson, John A., pp. 11–63. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Rue, David J. 1987 Early Agriculture and Early Postclassic Maya Occupation in Western Honduras. Nature 326: 285–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tourtellot, Gair III 1988 Excavations at Seibal, Department of Peten, Guatemala: Peripheral Survey and Excavations: Community and Settlement Patterns. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 16. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Tsukada, M. 1966 The Pollen Sequence. In The History of Laguna Petenxil, edited by Cowgill, Ursula and Hutchinson, George, pp. 63–66. Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Sciences Vol. 17. Connecticut Academy of Sciences, Hartford.Google Scholar
Turner, B.L. II 1983 Once Beneath the Forest: Prehistoric Terracing in the Rio Bec Region of the Maya Lowlands. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
van Tourenhout, Dirk 1996 The Day the Wall Came Down. Political Devolution in the Late Classic Maya Lowlands: A View from the Countryside, Quim Chi Hilan, El Petén, Guatemala. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA.Google Scholar
van Tourenhout, Dirk, and Verhagen, Inez 1992 Investigaciones en Quim Chi Hilan. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #4, Cuarta Temporada, edited by Demarest, Arthur, Inomata, Takeshi, and Escobedo, Héctor, pp. 71–80. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
van Tourenhout, Dirk, Henderson, Hope, Maslyk, Paul, and Wheat, Robert 1993 Recorrido en la región de Petexbatun: Temporada 1993. In Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun, Informe Preliminar #5, Quinta Temporada, edited by Valdés, Juan Antonio, Foias, Antonia, Inomata, Takeshi, Escobedo, Héctor, and Demarest, Arthur, pp. 81–88. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Guatemala, and Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Vaughan, Hague H., Deevy, Edward S., and Garrett-Jones, Samuel E. 1985 Pollen Stratigraphy of Two Cores from the Peten Lake District. In Prehistoric Lowland Maya Environment and Subsistence Economy, edited by Pohl, Mary D., pp. 73–90. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 77. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Wingard, John 1992 The Role of Soils in the Development and Collapse of Classic Maya Civilization at Copan, Honduras. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, College Park.Google Scholar
Woods, William I. 1977 The Quantitative Analysis of Soil Phosphate. American Antiquity 42: 248–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Lori Ellen 1994 The Sacrifice of the Earth? Diet, Health, and Inequality in the Pasión Maya Lowlands. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Wright, Lori Ellen 1997 Biological Perspectives on the Collapse of the Pasión Maya. Ancient Mesoamerica 8: 267–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Lori, and White, Christine 1996 Human Biology in the Classic Maya Collapse: Evidence from Paleopathology and Paleodiet. Journal of World Prehistory 10: 147–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar