[Aztlan] Wetland Walkways of the Maya

[David Hixson]

Thanks for your response, Elaine.  I can certainly
answer some of your questions, but others are tougher!

--- Elaine Day Schele <eschele at austin.rr.com> wrote:
> Are these rows
> of rocks always along
> tree lines like in the picture?

No, those trees are a consequence of the fact that
soil has formed within the decaying line of stones,
where there basically is no soil on either side.  In
other words, this is not a tree line where stones were
placed, it is a line of stones where opportunistic
trees have grown.

> Is it possible that
> they were trying to
> clear the land of rocks so they could have a better
> planting and growing
> surface or perhaps they are a recent property
> boundary line of 19th or 20th
> century origin.

Those were both ideas we toyed with, until more of
these lines were mapped, and the history of the area
was examined in more detail.  The lines begin only
where seasonal inundation begins, and end at any
topographic highs (just the oposite distribution of
where one would grow agricultural products).  The
stones actually come from the rocky high spots, and
are placed in the open bajos.

They often begin again on the other side of a
topographic high, and continue in this dotted-line
fashion for kilometers.  The largest lines all run
perpendicular to the wetlands, and do not outline any
polygonal shape that could be considered a boundary.

See this map of GPS points along these lines, taken
during my 2002 season (many more have been found since
then):

http://www.famsi.org/aztlan/uploads/chunchucmil-westernwetlands-andadores-2002.jpg

In Isla Cerritos (see the map of Isla Cerritos in the
article from Arqueologia Mexicana - 1998), such
andadores connected the site to a fresh water spring. 
The same is true at Vista Alegre, Q. Roo (according to
our friends Rissolo and Glover).  In other words, they
are directional, leading from point to point across
wetland areas, rather than enclosing.

> Can you tell how long they have been
> there?

That's the question!!  As lines of rocks that don't
travel over cultural features are notoriously
difficult to directly date, contextual evidence is all
we have.  Since those at Isla Cerritos and Vista
Alegre go directly from mounded architecture to
natural resources, they were likely built at the same
time as those sites were occupied.

We have no such contextual evidence in the western
area.  The lines start and stop in largely unoccupied
areas (but do "point" to various sites - including the
coastal site of Canbalam).  This area was most densely
occupied during the end of the Early Classic and into
the early part of the Late Classic.

I'm trying to find more examples of them from around
the Maya region, to gain a more informed perspective
on their distribution and context.

Thanks for your interest, and I'd love any more
suggestions!

-Dave

__________________________________________________
David R. Hixson
Doctoral Candidate
Tulane University
Dept. of Anthropology
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"Nothing more useless than a bored archaeologist."
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