[Aztlan] Tsunamis and the Isthmus

[David Hixson]

Estimados Listeros,

I will respectfully defer to Dr. Diehl's conclusion
that no such events (tsunamis or volcanic eruptions)
directly affected the gulf coast Olmec (as he has a
great amount of experience excavating the heartland
site of San Lorenzo).  These catastrophic events,
especially in well-stratified sites, would result in
the wide-spread deposition of culturally sterile
sediments.  The excavation reports by Dr. Diehl and
others reveal no such evidence in the stratigraphy.

However, Greg Sandor's suggestion of using digital /
remote sensing data for flood-related research is very
appropriate.  I have used the Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission (SRTM) data to model possible flood scenarios
in the low seasonal floodplains of NW Yucatan.

http://www.famsi.org/aztlan/uploads/Flood-Depth-Estimate-1mil-export.jpg

By increasing the "sea level" value incrementally (in
programs like ArcGIS), one can see the potential
results of massive tidal flooding (due to hypothetical
tsunamis, hurricanes, or even paleo-sea level high
stands).  Note that the black triangle is the location
of the ancient Maya city of Chunchucmil.  The
Chicxulub meteor impact crater ring is visible in the
arc-shaped interface between the Yellow and Orange
colors.

-Dave

__________________________________________________
David R. Hixson
Doctoral Candidate
Tulane University
Dept. of Anthropology
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