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6 A Reassessment of Water and Soil Resources in the Flatlands of the Northern Maya Lowlands
Author(s) -
Fedick Scott L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
archeological papers of the american anthropological association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.783
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1551-8248
pISSN - 1551-823X
DOI - 10.1111/apaa.12030
Subject(s) - geography , water table , cave , wetland , population , subsistence agriculture , archaeology , period (music) , karst , peninsula , human settlement , table (database) , maya , physical geography , agriculture , geology , ecology , groundwater , computer science , data mining , biology , physics , demography , geotechnical engineering , sociology , acoustics
Often characterized as a low, flat, limestone shelf with thin soils and restricted water resources, the northern lowlands are now proving to have supported high population levels and complex social development from the earliest Preclassic times through the Postclassic, though striking differences in developmental trajectories exist. The karstic plain of the north‐central portion of the Yucatán Peninsula is characterized by the presence of dry depressions or rejolladas with wells, cenotes, and caves with water. The spatial distribution of these hydrological features played a key role in the occupation of the region since the Late Preclassic period, while the archaeological data suggest population growth during the eighth and ninth centuries C.E., reaching its peak in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Various agricultural technologies provided adaptations to the resource base, while the general settlement history may be linked to the dynamics of water‐table fluctuations and resulting suitability of the wetlands for subsistence production.