[Aztlan] DEMISE OF THE MAYA IN BELIZE

[michael ruggeri]

FROM CO2 SCIENCE;


Demise of the Maya in Belize
Reference
Polk, J.S., van Beynen, P.E. and Reeder, P.P. 2007. Late Holocene  
environmental reconstruction using cave sediments from Belize.  
Quaternary Research 68: 53-63.
What was done
Polk et al. analyzed environmental changes on Belize's Vaca Plateau  
via "vegetation reconstruction using δ13C values of fulvic acids  
extracted from cave sediments," which provide "a proxy record of Maya  
alteration of the environment through agricultural practices," in  
conjunction with "speleothem carbon and oxygen isotope data from  
another nearby cave in the study area" that "provide information  
regarding climate variability."

What was learned
Starting at approximately AD 500, according to the three US  
researchers, increasingly more negative δ13C values in the sediment  
record indicate "the declining practice of agriculture," which they  
say is "characteristic of a C3-dominated environment receiving little  
contribution from the isotopically heavier C4 agricultural plants."  
This inference makes sense, because (1) the period of initial  
agricultural decline coincides with the well-known Maya Hiatus of AD  
530 to 650, which was driven by an increasing "lack of available  
water resources needed to sustain agriculture," and (2) the study  
area "would likely have been among the first sites [our italics] to  
be affected by aridity due to its naturally well-drained upland  
terrain, causing a shift away from agricultural land use that  
preceded [that of] many other lowland areas."

In line with this scenario, it is not at all surprising Polk et al.  
report that as early as AD 800 their δ13C values indicate the Vaca  
Plateau "was no longer used for agriculture, coinciding with the  
Terminal Classic Collapse" of the Maya, which Hodell et al. (2007)  
identify as occurring, in total, between AD 750 and 1050. These  
latter figures thus indicate that the Ix Chel archaeological site on  
the Vaca Plateau was, indeed, one of the very first sites to say  
goodbye to the Maya people, as the recurring and intensifying  
droughts of the Medieval Warm Period gradually squeezed the life out  
of the Maya's waning culture.

What it means
The results of the study of Polk et al. are just another example of  
the devastating human consequences of the catastrophic droughts that  
plagued many parts of North, Central and northern tropical South  
America during the globe-girdling Medieval Warm Period; but as such,  
they constitute yet another important testament to the reality of the  
Medieval Warm Period and its "globe-girdling" nature. See also, in  
this regard, our Medieval Warm Period Project.

Reference
Hodell, D.A., Brenner, M. and Curtis, J.H. 2007. Climate and cultural  
history of the Northeastern Yucatan Peninsula, Quintana Roo, Mexico.  
Climatic Change 83: 215-240.

Reviewed 26 September 2007




Mike Ruggeri's The Ancient Americas Breaking News
http://web.mac.com/michaelruggeri

Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America and Mesoamerica News and Links
http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MIKERUGGERISANCIENT/ 
index.html