Temple mountains, sacred lakes, and fertile fields: ancient Maya landscapes in northwestern Belize.

Temple mountains, sacred lakes, and fertile fields: ancient Maya landscapes in northwestern Belize. 'Intimate knowledge of historical sources, archaeologicalsites, biogeography BiogeographyA synthetic discipline that describes the distributions of living and fossil species of plants and animals across the Earth's surface as consequences of ecological and evolutionary processes. and ecology, and the processes of geomorphology geomorphology,study of the origin and evolution of the earth's landforms, both on the continents and within the ocean basins. It is concerned with the internal geologic processes of the earth's crust, such as tectonic activity and volcanism that constructs new mustbe fused in patient field studies, so that we may read the changes inhabitability Fitness for occupancy. The requirement that rented premises, such as a house or apartment, be reasonably fit to occupy.A Warranty of habitability is an implied promise by a landlord of residential premises that such premises are fit for human habitation. through human time for the lands in which civilizationfirst took form' SAUER 1955:61 Introduction Forty-three years later these words still ring true, but are tooseldom followed (Fedick 1996). For several years, we have been engagedin a multidisciplinary programme of research in northwestern Belize andneighbouring areas of Guatemala, eliciting a comprehensive, integratedpicture of changing ancient Maya landscapes (Scarborough & Dunning1996; Valdez et al. 1997). Our goals include a reconstructivecorrelation of environmental and cultural history, including therelationship between changes in water and land management and politicaleconomic organization. This work is still in progress and ourunderstanding is far from complete (Dunning & Scarborough 1997). This article centres on changing landscapes at the major centres ofLa Milpa and Dos Hombres and surrounding lands [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE1 OMITTED]. These centres lie within the Three Rivers Three Rivers,Que., Canada: see Trois Rivières. region, where theRio Azul This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.Please help recruit one or [ improve this article] yourself. See the talk page for details. , Rio Bravo and Booth's River converge to form the RioHondo Rio Hondo may refer to: R��o Hondo, a town in the Guatemalan department of Zacapa. Rio Hondo (Belize), a river which forms much of the border between Belize and Mexico. Rio Hondo (California), a tributary of the Los Angeles River in the U.S. state of California. on the eastern periphery of the Central Maya Lowlands (Adams1995a). Recent work, partly covered here, focuses on the course ofhuman-environment interactions in this region. However, in studyinghuman-environment relationships 'nature' cannot be taken onlyas a self-evident object available for human management. Nature as anobject for human action is mediated by culture. In turn, culture cannotbe seen as unitary, bounded and internally homogeneous. Both individualand group perceptions shaped human-environment actions and may bemanifest in the landscape. How nature was rendered culturallyintelligible by landscape manipulation had important consequences forwhose 'voices' are heard and whose claims are legitimated amidstruggles over the control of vital resources (Bender 1992; Thomas1993). The ancient landscapes created by the Maya included bothintentional and unintentional environmental changes. Intentional changesincluded the centrally directed erection of monumental architecture aswell as the accretionary engineering of the landscape by generations offarmers. Unintentional effects included sometimes devastating soil lossand hydrological hy��drol��o��gy?n.The scientific study of the properties, distribution, and effects of water on the earth's surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere. changes. Both the intentional and unintentional must beread for the landscape to provide a more comprehensive picture of Mayacivilization. Our research views landscape as a layered artefact See artifact. , reflectingcumulative processes of human action and environmental change. The laterphases of modification will generally be the most readily discernable toinvestigators. Thus, our discussion here gives particular emphasis tothe landscape which took shape between AD 700 and 900 (the later part ofthe Late Classic and first part of the Terminal Classic periods). The Three Rivers region The Three Rivers region includes the eastern margins of the largePeten karst Karst(kärst), Ital. Carso, Slovenian Kras, limestone plateau, W Slovenia, N of Istria and extending c.50 mi (80 km) SE from the lower Isonzo (Soča) valley between the Bay of Trieste and the Julian Alps. plateau, a hydrologically elevated limestone areacharacterized by rugged free-draining uplands and seasonally-inundated,clay-filled depressions (bajos) (Dunning et al. in press). It alsoincludes the generally low-lying valleys of the Rio Bravo andBooth's River that encompass low, limestone ridges and large,perennial wetlands. The La Milpa site centre is situated on atopographically prominent ridge of the upland plateau; the Dos Hombressite centre occupies a low, but locally prominent rise amid the RioBravo lowlands. Soils on the limestone uplands are fertile, but shallow claymollisols or rendzinas, which are vulnerable to erosion where they occuron sloping terrain (Dunning 1992a). Bajo and lowland soils are deep clayvertisols, mollisols and organic mucks (histosols). These soils are alsooften fertile, but subject to significant drainage limitations orshrink-swell (argilloturbation) problems. Regional native vegetation ranges from perennial Swamp Forest andgrasslands in the lowlands to Tropical Wet/Dry Deciduous deciduous/de��cid��u��ous/ (de-sid��u-us) falling off or shed at maturity, as the teeth of the first dentition. de��cid��u��ousadj.1. Forest acrossthe uplands (Brokaw & Mallory 1993). The latter reflects thepowerful influence of a regional climate that includes a prominentJune-December wet season which typically sees about 90% of the averageannual rainfall of 1500 mm, and a January-May dry season. The severityof this dry season poses a significant obstacle to human occupation ofthe karstic uplands, where perennial water sources are few and farbetween. Pre-classic developments The earliest cultural remains uncovered in the Three Rivers regionare ephemeral, non-structural artefact deposits dating to the MiddlePreclassic period (900-400 BC). based on comparative data from otherparts of the Maya Lowlands, this period was characterized by smallgroups of farmers, who may already have begun significantly altering thelocal environment by clearing large areas of forest using swidden swid��den?n.An area cleared for temporary cultivation by cutting and burning the vegetation.[Dialectal alteration of obsolete swithen, from Old Norse svidhna, to be burned.] cultivation. Urbanization and associated landscape modifications came to theregion during the Late Preclassic-Protoclassic (400 BC-AD 250) (Adams1995a). At La Milpa, a significant investment in monumental architecturetook shape around Plaza A (the Great Plaza), including multipleconstruction phases on Structure 1, a large pyramid-temple([ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2 OMITTED]; Guderjan 1991; Hammond et al.1996). At Dos Hombres, monumental architecture appeared, similarlyclustered in the northern site core or Group A ([ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE3 OMITTED]; Houk 1996). These large northern plazas continued to be thefoci of funerary fu��ner��ar��y?adj.Of or suitable for a funeral or burial.[Latin fner monument construction throughout the subsequentoccupation of these sites. A primary impetus towards settlementconcentration at this time may be described as a desired proximity tothe sacred (Wheatley 1967: 25). However, more mundane factorsundoubtedly were involved in this process, including the concentrationof population in areas where the environment had been 'tamed'.It was during the Late Preclassic that the institution of Maya divinekingship divine kingshipReligio-political concept that views a ruler as an incarnation, manifestation, mediator, or agent of the sacred. In some nonliterate societies, members view their rulers or chiefs as inheritors of the community's own magical power. first emerged (Schele & Freidel 1990). The relationship ofMaya rulers with gods and the celestial realm was highly complex,including impersonation ImpersonationPatrocluswore the armor of Achilles against the Trojans to encourage the disheartened Greeks. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad]Prisoner of Zenda, The rituals and the exclusive possession by rulersof special imagery believed to be receptacles of divine forces. Thesettlement cores of both La Milpa and Dos Hombres appear to haveremained quite small during the Late Preclassic, apparently clusteringaround the small concentration of monumental architecture, accompaniedby light, dispersed rural population. Our understanding of environmental change in the Three Riversregion is limited because our most comprehensive pollen record is from ahighly compressed sediment core [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 4 OMITTED]. Thecore was taken from Laguna de Juan Piojo, an apparent oxbow lake oxbow lakeSmall lake located in a former meander loop of a river or stream channel. It is generally formed as a river cuts through a meander neck to shorten its course, blocks off the old channel, and then migrates away from the lake. situated in the Rio Bravo floodplain floodplain,level land along the course of a river formed by the deposition of sediment during periodic floods. Floodplains contain such features as levees, backswamps, delta plains, and oxbow lakes. west of Dos Hombres. The upperapproximately 50 cm of sediment consisted on unsolidated organic ooze OOZE - Object oriented extension of Z. "Object Orientation in Z", S. Stepney et al eds, Springer 1992. (gyttja) that compressed into a mere 1-2 cm. The base of the core wasoxidized lacustrine la��cus��trine?adj.1. Of or relating to lakes.2. Living or growing in or along the edges of lakes.[French or Italian lacustre (from Latin lacus, lake) + clay devoid of pollen, charcoal from which produceda calibrated radiocarbon date of 910-790 BC (Beta-118303). A calibratedradiocarbon date of 60 BC-AD 90 (Beta-120942) was obtained from organicsediment at a depth of 10 cm. We interpret the 25-cm pollen record shownin FIGURE 4 to represent the period from approximately 500 BC to AD1000. All strata show disturbance indicators typical of the MayaLowlands: e.g. Poaceae (grasses) and Asteraceae (asters), associatedwith Zea (maize) cultivation. Maize pollen levels are as high asanywhere in the Maya Lowlands, possibly indicating nearby intensivecultivation. Arboreal arborealpertaining to trees, treelike, tree-dwelling. pollen levels indicate that deforestation deforestationProcess of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. waswidespread throughout the period, but with patches of tree coverremaining, including some economic species such as Sapotaceae (Zapoteand related species). Greater understanding of local environmental change derives fromgeoaracheological investigations (Dunning et al. 1996; Dunning &Scarborough 1997; Dunning & Beach 1996; in press). Ourinvestigations in bajos at the mouths of Drainage I and 3 at La Milparevealed significant episodes of disturbance. Trenches in the Drainage 3bajo uncovered a buried peaty layer ([ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 5OMITTED]: Unit 5 - dated to Preclassic times) containing pollenpredominantly from wetland and aquatic plants. This wetland waseventually aggraded by inwashing mineral sediments (Unit 4).Subsequently, increasingly extreme variation in soil moisture,subsidence and compression resulted in substantial clay-heaving,distorting soil strata. By the Early Classic, the bajos had beenanthropogenically transformed from perennial to seasonal wetlands,spurring the need to develop alternative water sources. We believe thesmall regional Preclassic population, probably practising extensiveforms of forest clearance and agriculture, generated tremendousenvironmental disturbance. Much of the region's sloping uplandterrain was probably greatly denuded of its soil cover. This conclusioncorresponds with better-documented findings which suggest that in someareas the Maya of the ensuing Early Classic period may have inherited aseverely eroded landscape from their ancestors (Jacob 1995; Dunning1992b; 1995; Dunning et al. in press; Dunning & Beach n.d.; Rice1993). In some areas like the Nakbe-El Mirador region in northern Peten,environmental degradation may have been severe enough to lead toregional abandonment (Jacob 1995; Hansen 1995). Early Classic urbanism The Early Classic period (250-600 AD) at La Milpa and Dos Hombresremains poorly understood. The focus of monumental construction at LaMilpa continued to be Plaza A and the nucleated settlement appears tohave remained small (Hammond et al. 1996; Tourtellot et al. 1995).Dynastic stelae began appearing at La Milpa and other major lowlandcentres. Where legible, the texts on such stelae tie the founding ofClassic royal dynasties to the first years of the Early Classic, markinga notable shift to political states based on institutionalized royalsuccession and the increased stability of the political system (Grube1995). Early Classic monumental architecture has yet to be detected at DosHombres (Houk 1996). This absence may be the result of the limitednature of excavations to date in Group A. The possible presence of an'E Group' astronomical ritual assemblage in Group A at DosHombres suggests continued activity in the Early Classic as the spreadof such architectural complexes may be linked to theinstitutionalization InstitutionalizationThe gradual domination of financial markets by institutional investors, as opposed to individual investors. This process has occurred throughout the industrialized world. of the Classic period political system at this time(Chase & Chase 1995). In many Maya communities, residentialpopulations became more spatially concentrated during the Early Classic,making it more likely that they will be under-represented in broadsampling programmes (Pyburn 1990). Elite residential activity hasrecently been found in excavations conducted by Jeffrey Durst in 1997and 1998 in the group including Structures B11-B17. Rural hinterlandpopulations around Dos Hombres remained sparse, but increased somewhataround La Milpa (Robichaux 1995). On the other hand, the Three Rivers region centres of Rio Azul andBlue Creek grew tremendously during the Early Classic (Adams 1995b;Guderjan 1996). Rio Azul in particular saw a huge expansion in urbanarea and population as well as in monumental construction, growth thatmay be tied politically to the spread of the Tikal 'superstate' (Adams 1995b). Urban land and water The Early Classic growth and transformations occurring at Rio Azul,Blue Creek and La Milpa may also relate to changing patterns of basicresource control. A necessary adaptation for urbanization in theseasonally dry Maya Lowlands was toward the use of reservoirs as part ofa long-term modification of local watersheds (Scarborough 1993). Takingadvantage of heavy rainfall for 7 months of the year, the Maya couldimpound impoundv. 1) to collect funds, in addition to installment payments, from a person who owes a debt secured by property, and place them in a special account to pay property taxes and insurance when due. enough water in urban areas to survive the dry season. In thePreclassic, such reservoir systems typically occupied naturaltopographic depressions. However, as Classic Maya civilization tookshape, reservoir construction shifted to the upper reaches of localwatersheds to the rugged karst ridges on which urban centres were beingbuilt. At La Milpa, the upper portions of local watersheds draining thesite core were dammed in order to create reservoirs [ILLUSTRATION FORFIGURE 2 OMITTED]. The release of water from these reservoirs may havebeen controlled through the combined use of sluice gates and check dams(Scarborough et al. 1992; 1995). One purpose of this rather elaboratewater diversion strategy appears to have been to regulate soil moisturelevels in pockets of flatter upland soils which appear to have been usedas plots for intensive agriculture (Dunning 1992a). The soils found insuch pockets are highly fertile if soil moisture can be effectivelyregulated and they are highly suitable to intensive cultivation. As Drennan (1988) has noted, the intensification of land use isoften most pronounced in settings like the Maya Lowlands because thenaturally dispersed population live in close proximity to their fieldsand gardens. The prevalence of seasonally arid conditions in the region,however, would have acted to combat the tendency towards populationdispersal Population dispersalThe process by which groups of living organisms expand the space or range within which they live. Dispersal operates when individual organisms leave the space that they have occupied previously, or in which they were born, and settle in by making a secure source of water more desirable - a trendthat engendered further intensification of land use. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , theneed to secure water significantly increased the investment in local,fixed, space or place. Thus, the latter years of the Late Preclassic andbeginning of the Early Classic saw a focus of Maya settlements in thePeten on local watersheds. The built environment of temples, palaces andcourtyards at the heart of these watersheds came to be the criticalsource of life-sustaining water [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 6 OMITTED]. The spatial concentration of population and the'improvement' of select lands on the flanks of localwatersheds would also have significantly affected land values. Followingthe tenets of 'first founder' theory, the local ruling elitecontrolled these select lands as their importance increased throughwater manipulation and enhanced productivity (Dunning 1992c: 114-17;1995). Spatial concentration and changing land values thus appear to berelated to increasing stratification in Classic Maya society (McAnany1995). While many proponents of a segmentary model for ancient Mayasocio-political organization suggest that elite wealth lay principallyin the control of labour and its products through ideology and ritual(Ball & Taschek 1991; Demarest 1992; Houston 1992), it is noteworthythat many ethnohistorical sources suggest that ruling lineages haddirect control over tracts of valuable land (McAnany 1995). Schele(1995) also notes that much of the emerging system of Classic Mayarulership symbols was linked to ideas of agriculture and environmentalcontrol. As the Classic period progressed it is evident that land becamemore tightly controlled and more often contested (Chase & Chase1996; McAnany 1995). Another sign of the incremental growth in importance of centrallylocated land is the development of agricultural terracing. Suchterracing apparently began with check dams and other contouringmodifications of natural drainage channels surrounding populationclusters in the Early Classic and then exploded in a proliferation andcomplex variety of dry slope terracing in the Late Classic (Dunning& Beach 1994). Again we see a pattern of intensifying investment inlocalized space. At the giant site of Caracol, terracing appears to havefacilitated extraordinary urban expansion (Chase & Chase 1987;1996). The dating of the construction of the reservoir system at La Milpaand associated dams, weirs and terraces is problematic and the precisenature of these features has been questioned (N. Hammond & G.Tourtellot pers. comm. 1998). Evidence recovered to date suggests thatportions of the system may have been started in the Late Preclassic andEarly Classic. However, the extensive elaboration of the system clearlydates to the Late Classic period (after 700 AD). Through the cutting andfilling of the rugged ridgetop landscape, central reservoirs werecreated [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2 OMITTED]. While the towering pyramidsand palaces of the site centre were visible beacons of Maya politicalorder, the reservoirs created from the quarrying operations to buildthese monuments became integral parts of the urban design. The politicalauthority of the rulers was manifest not only in the monumentsdramatizing the power of the king, but also in the creation of a sourceof precious water where formerly there was none (Scarborough 1998). Thiswas, in essence, the creation of a ritually regulated ecosystem whichboth promoted hierarchy and reified rulership. As the Classic periodprogressed, and elite society became more complex, Maya rulers sought todistinguish themselves further from other elite and the masses bydeifying their ancestors and increasingly deifying themselves (Houston& Stuart 1996). Sacred centres A central concept in Maya cosmology is the temple mountain or watermountain (Brady 1997; Freidel et al. 1993; Scarborough 1998). Suchplaces are centring points linking multiple layers of the cosmos and thepresent with the past and future. A fundamental aspect of this conceptis the role of water as a transformative boundary, simultaneouslyseparating and connecting cosmic planes. In particular the boundary ofthe underworld is manifest as a watery surface, reflective of eventspast, present, and future. The creation of such surfaces within the sitecentre of La Milpa and other cities undoubtedly had tremendous symbolicpower (Scarborough 1998). Houk (1996) has noted that during the Late Classic, the site coresof Dos Hombres, La Milpa, and other Three Rivers regional centres weretransformed such that they followed a basic 'site planningtemplate' (Type 1) that appears to have originated in theneighbouring Peten. As described by Ashmore (1991), this'Peten' template included the several key elements: 1 emphasis of a north-south axis; 2 formal and functional complementarity of north and south nodes(dualism); 3 causeways to emphasize certain connections, and 4 ball courts marking the north-south transition. In Maya cosmology the north-south axis is also vertical, with northcorresponding to the overworlds and south to the underworlds. Followingthe Peten template the northern nodes at La Milpa and Dos Hombres, withtheir royal funerary temples, dynastic stelae and open ritual spacebecame the celestial realm in this architectural recreation of cosmicorder. The placement of ball-courts, symbolic portals to the underworld,as linking elements was also obviously intentional. This placement ismost obvious at Dos Hombres [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 3 OMITTED]. At LaMilpa, the small ball-court at the southeast end of Plaza A was arelatively late addition, perhaps to bring the site centre more in linewith the Peten template. At La Milpa, it is also noteworthy that thelarge watery surfaces of Reservoirs A and B would have separated thenorthern and southern symbolic realms. The spread of the Peten 'site planning template' may berelated to significant population shifts occurring during the LateClassic period. Much of the Three Rivers region was affected by anapparent 'Middle Classic' hiatus, beginning in the mid 6thcentury AD and lasting until the mid 8th century. Rio Azul wasabandoned, then later marginally reoccupied (Adams 1995a; 1995b). Majorstructures were ritually terminated at Blue Creek and monumentalconstruction ceased although residential populations remained (Guderjan1996). Dos Hombres may have been temporarily abandoned (Houk 1996).Monumental construction ceased at La Milpa and temporary abandonment mayhave occurred (Hammond et al. 1996). The reason for thesetransformations is not entirely clear, but may be related to largerscale conflicts involving the 'super states' of Tikal,Calakmul and Caracol (Adams 1995a; Martin & Grube 1995). Apogee & collapse By the mid 8th century, however, the construction of monumentalarchitecture and stelae erection began again at La Milpa and Dos Hombreson an unprecedented scale, including the incorporation of the Type i or'Peten' site plan. At the same time, the population of thesecentres grew tremendously, with dense settlement spreading far beyondthe site cores and effectively filling large portions of surroundingcountryside. Adams (1995a) relates this settlement-pattern change to adispersal of farmers and feudal overlords directly onto the countryside.Lohse & Hageman (1997) have noted that this settlementtransformation was also marked by the appearance of 'Tikal PlazaPlan 2' in urban and rural elite residential architecture acrossthe region. Evidence suggests that the resurrection of La Milpa and DosHombres was at least partly the result of a migration of people from theneighbouring Peten region as well as from internal population growth(Tourtellot et al. 1995). As mentioned above, these migrants may have inherited anenvironment still significantly degraded by Preclassic/Early Classicdeforestation and agriculture. Our investigations in La Milpa Drainages1 and 3, for example, suggest many upland areas were seriously eroded inearlier times and probably only had minimally redeveloped soil cover bythe mid 8th century. Settlement mapping and excavations at La Milpa haverevealed often extremely high settlement densities and a remarkablearray of linear stone features (Tourtellot et al. 1994; 1995). Thesefeatures are generally crude in form, and constructed of rough'chich' stones. They all appear to date to the last century ofthe Late Classic and first century of the Terminal Classic (AD 700-900).While some of these stone alignments form apparent residential boundarywalls and others comprise simple terraces, many defy easy explanation.This is not the tidy, rationalized, economic landscape documented forterraced lands in the Rio Bec R��o Bec is a Pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in what is now southern Campeche, Mexico. The name also refers to an architectural style (Rio Bec Style) that first appeared at Rio Bec and subsequently spread to other nearby sites. (Eaton 1975; Turner 1983). In short, thelandscape suggests that by sometime in the Terminal Classic, the farmingpopulation of La Milpa were trying to salvage remnants of soil and soilmoisture from largely denuded upland surfaces. What began apparently asa fairly rationally managed or 'engineered landscape'(Scarborough 1993) may have ultimately severely degraded (Tourtellot etal. 1995). Where deep clay soil had accumulated in upland depressions,Maya farmers faced other problems: devastating rainy season run-off andflooding and dry season desiccation des��ic��ca��tionn.The process of being desiccated.desic��ca and clay contraction. These problemswere probably exacerbated by deforestation and the creation of asun-baked, parched bajo landscape (Rice 1993). At Dos Hombres, anunusually dense concentration of late settlement on the margins of alarge aguada (seasonally wet sinkhole sinkholeor sink or dolineDepression formed as underlying limestone bedrock is dissolved by groundwater. Sinkholes vary greatly in area and depth and may be very large. ) also suggest a growing scarcityof water (Lohse in press). By this point, the maintenance of monumentsdedicated to the social and cosmic order became a concern secondary tomere survival. The long-term abandonment of the cities and region attestto the probable severity of environmental degradation and depopulation DEPOPULATION. In its most proper signification, is the destruction of the people of a country or place. This word is, however, taken rather in a passive than an active one; we say depopulation, to designate a diminution of inhabitants, arising either from violent causes, or the want of that occurred in the Terminal Classic. Some 500-600 years later, La Milpa became the site of renewedritual activity, including the movement and resetting of ancient stelae,possibly as part of a regional revitalization cult (Hammond & Bobo1994). This activity attests to the continued influence of a sacredplace (Civil Law) the place where a deceased person is buried.See also: Sacred , long after it was first created or maintained as a synergizedunion of ritual, architecture and landscape (Thomas 1993). In essence,the 'voices' of the rulers still echo from weathered, graven grav��en?v.A past participle of grave3.Adj. 1. graven - cut into a desired shape; "graven images"; "sculptured representations"sculpted, sculptured images and crumbling temples and palaces. The strength of such voicesfrom the past, however, is unequal. The voices of those that toiled inthe fields have become even more muted by the centuries and by theshrouding forest. To hear them we must give equal attention to the morehumble features of the archaeological record The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote all archaeological evidence, including the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyze and reconstruct the past. and to soil itself. Acknowledgements. An earlier version of this paper was presented inthe symposium 'Dynamic landscapes and sociopolitical so��ci��o��po��li��ti��cal?adj.Involving both social and political factors.sociopoliticalAdjectiveof or involving political and social factors process: thetopography of anthropogenic an��thro��po��gen��ic?adj.1. Of or relating to anthropogenesis.2. Caused by humans: anthropogenic degradation of the environment. environments in global perspective',organized by Chris Fischer and Tina Thurston at the 63rd Meeting of theSociety for American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The Society was founded in 1934 and today has over 7000 members. , Seattle (WA), 25-29 March 1998. Usefulcomments on that paper were received from Barbara Bender, Gary Feinman,Stephen Houston, Jon Hageman, Jon Lohse, Gair Tourtellot and NormanHammond. Much of the work reported here has been carried out as part ofthe Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, under the generalsupervision of Fred Valdez, Jr, and with the gracious cooperation ofboth the Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Tourism and theEnvironment and the Programme for Belize. Investigations during 1997 and1998 were carried out with the generous support of the National ScienceFoundation (Grant no SBR-963-1024 to Vernon Scarborough and NicholasDunning). Earlier work has been supported by funds from a NationalGeographic Society to Scarborough in 1992, a Heinz Family Foundationgrant to Dunning in 1994, and from the University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities and in the top 50 of all American research universities,[2] ,University of Texas and Georgetown University Georgetown University,in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.; Jesuit; coeducational; founded 1789 by John Carroll, chartered 1815, inc. 1844. Its law and medical schools are noteworthy, and its archives are especially rich in letters and manuscripts by and and generous privatedonors. Dunning and Beach undertook investigations in 1996 as part ofBoston University's La Milpa Archaeological Project, headed byNorman Hammond and Gair Tourtellot. Hammond and Tourtellot are to bethanked for their co-operation and friendly exchange of ideas over thepast several years, all of which have benefitted our work immensely.Numerous personnel of the Programme for Belize Archaeological Projecthave contributed to the work reported here, including Alan Covich,Jeffrey Durst, Jan Hageman, Brett Houk, Paul Hughbanks, Laura Levi,Brandon Lewis, Jan Lohse, Julie Kunen, Andrew Manning, Victoria McCoy,David McDowell, Chap Ross, Hugh Robichaux, Kerry Sagebiel, Frank Saul,Julie Saul, Lauren Sullivan and Skve Wagner. References ADAMS, R.E.W. 1995a. A regional perspective on the Lowland Maya ofthe northeast Peten and northwestern Belize. Paper presented at the 60thAnnual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Minneapolis. 1995b Early Classic Maya civilization: a view from Rio Azul, inGrube (ed.): 35-48. ASHMORE, W. 1991. Site-planning principles and concepts ofdirectionality among the ancient Maya, Latin American Antiquity 2:199-226. BALL, J. & J. TASCHEK. 1991. Late Classic Lowland Mayapolitical organization and central place analysis, Latin AmericanAntiquity 2: 149-65. BENDER, B. 1992. Theorizing landscape and the prehistoriclandscapes of Stonehenge, Man 27: 735-55. BRADY, J. 1997. Settlement configuration and cosmology: the role ofcaves at Dos Pilas, American Anthropologist 99: 602-18. BROKAW, N.V.L. & E.P. MALLORY. 1993. Vegetation of the RioBravo Conservation and Management Area, Belize. Manomet (MA): ManometBird Observatory. CHASE, A.F. & D.Z. CHASE. 1987. Investigations at the ClassicMaya city of Caracol, Belize: 1985-1987. San Francisco (CA):PreColumbian Art Research Institute. Monograph 3. 1995. External impetus, internal synthesis, and standardization: EGroup assemblages and the crystallization CrystallizationThe formation of a solid from a solution, melt, vapor, or a different solid phase. Crystallization from solution is an important industrial operation because of the large number of materials marketed as crystalline particles. of Classic Maya civilizationin the Southern Lowlands, in Grube (ed.): 87-102. 1996. More than kin and king: centralized political organizationamong the Late Classic Maya, Current Anthropology 37: 803-10. DEMAREST, A.A. 1992. Ideology in ancient Maya cultural evolution:the dynamics of galactic politics, in A.A. Demarest & G. Conrad(ed.), Ideology and pre-Columbian civilizations: 135-58. Santa Fe (NM):School of American Research. DRENNAN, R.D. 1988. Household location and compact versus dispersedsettlement in prehispanic Mesoamerica, in R. Wilk & W. Ashmore(ed.), Household and community in the Mesoamerican past: 273-93.Albuquerque (NM): University of New Mexico Press The University of New Mexico Press, founded in 1929, is a university press that is part of the University of New Mexico. External linkUniversity of New Mexico Press . DUNCAN, J. 1990. The city as text: the politics of landscapeinterpretation in the Kandyan Kingdom. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). . DUNNING, N.P. 1992a. Notes on the environment and ancientagricultural features at La Milpa and surrounding areas, Belize, inScarborough eta]. 1992. 1992b. Umwelt, Siedlungweise, Ernahrung und Lebensunderhalt imMaya-Tiefland wahrend der Klassik (250-900 n. Chr.), in E. Eggebrecht,A. Eggebrecht & N. Grube (ed.), Die Welt der Maya: 92-106. Mainz:Verlag Phillip van Zabern. 1992c. Lords of the hills: ancient Maya settlement of the Puucregion, Yucatan, Mexico. Madison (WI): Prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to Press. 1995. Coming together at the temple mountain: environment,subsistence, and the emergence of Classic Maya segmentary states, inGrube (ed.): 61-70. DUNNING, N. P. & T. BEACH. 1994. Soil erosion, slopemanagement, and ancient terracing in the Maya Lowlands, Latin AmericanAntiquity 5: 51-69. 1996. Pedo-archaeological investigations of ancient Maya land useat La Milpa, Belize, 1996. Manuscript submitted to the La MilpaArchaeological Project, Department of Archaeology, Boston University. In press. Stability and instability in pre-Hispanic Mayalandscapes, in D. Lentz (ed.), Precolumbian New World Ecosystems. NewYork New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of (NY): Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is an academic press based in New York City and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan (2004-present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, . N.d. An ancient Maya landscape: environmental archaeology andancient settlement of the Petexbatun Region, Guatemala. Nashville (TN):Vanderbilt University Press Vanderbilt University Press, founded in 1940, is a university press that is part of Vanderbilt University. External linkVanderbilt University Press . DUNNING, N.P., T. BEACH, P. FARRELL & S. LUZZADDER-BEACH. Inpress. Prehispanic agrosystems and adaptive regions in the MayaLowlands, Culture and Agriculture 20. DUNNING, N.P., S. LUZZADDER-BEACH, T. BEACH, P. HUGHBANKS & F.VALDEZ, JR 1996. Ancient Maya soil use and abuse: pedo-archaeologicalinvestigations in the Programme for Belize. Paper presented at the 61stAnnual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans. DUNNING. N.P., D. RUE, T. BEACH. A. COVICH & A. TRAVERSE. 1998.Human-environment interactions in a tropical watershed: the paleoecology pa��le��o��e��col��o��gyn.The branch of ecology that deals with the interaction between ancient organisms and their environment. of Laguna Tamarindito, Peten, Guatemala, Journal of Field Archaeology25: 139-51. DUNNING, N.P. & V.L. SCARBOROUGH. 1997. Preliminary report onNSF NSF - National Science Foundation Grant No. SBR-963-1024: an accretive model of ancient Maya water andland use in northwestern Belize (the 1997 season). Report submitted tothe National Science Foundation, Washington (DC). EATON, J.D. 1975. Ancient agricultural farmsteads in the Rio BecRegion of Yucatan, Contributions of the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). Archaeological Research Facility 27: 5682. Berkeley (CA): University ofCalifornia. FEDICK, S.L. 1996. Conclusion: landscape approaches to the study ofancient Maya agriculture and resource use, in S.L. Fedick (ed.), Themanaged mosaic: ancient Maya agriculture and resource use: 335-47. SaltLake City (UT): University of Utah Press The University of Utah Press is a university press that is part of the University of Utah. External linkUniversity of Utah Press . FREIDEL, D.A., L. SCHELE & J. PARKER. 1993. Maya cosmos: threethousand years on the shaman's path. New York (NY): William Morrow. GRUBE, N. (ed.). 1995. The emergence of Classic Maya civilization.Mockmuhl: Verlag von Flemming. Acta Mesoamericana 8. 1995. Transformations of Maya society at the end of the Preclassic:processes of change between predynastic and dynastic periods, in Grube(ed.): 1-7. GUDERJAN, T.H. (ED.). 1991. Maya settlement in northwestern Belize:the 1988 and 1990 seasons of the Rio Bravo Archaeological Project.Culver City (CA): Labyrinthos. 1996. Summary of research at Blue Creek, in T.H. Guderjan, W.D.Driver & H.R. Haines (ed.), Archaeological research at Blue Creek,Belize: progress report of the fourth (1995) season: 5-26. San Antonio(TX): Maya Research Program. HAMMOND, N. & M.R. BOBO. 1994. Pilgrimage's last mile:late Maya monument veneration at La Milpa, Belize, World Archaeology 26:19-34. HAMMOND, N., G. TOURTELLOT, S. DONAGHEY & A. CLARKE. 1996.Survey and excavation at La Milpa, 1996, Mexican 18: 86-91. HANSEN, R. 1995. Nuevas perspectivas de los origines y colapso decivilizacion Maya. Paper presented at the V Encuentro de losInvestigadores de la Cultura Maya, Campeche. HOUK, B.A. 1996. The archaeology of site planning: an example fromthe Maya site of Dos Hombres, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D dissertation,University of Texas, Austin (TX). HOUSTON, S. & D. STUART. 1996. Of gods, glyphs and kings:divinity and rulership among the Classic Maya, Antiquity 70: 289-312. JACOB, J.S. 1995. Archaeological pedology pedologyA branch of soil science focusing on the formation, morphology, and classification of soils as bodies within the natural landscape. Pedology seeks to understand how the properties and distribution patterns of soils worldwide (collectively called the pedosphere) have in the Maya Lowlands, inPedological perspectives in archaeological research: 51-79. Madison(WI): Soil Science Society of America The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), is a scientific and professional society of soil scientists, principally in the U.S. but with a large number of non-U.S. members as well. . Special publication 44. LOHSE, J.C. In press. Results of 1996 season of mapping: an interimview of residential organization at Dos Hombres, Belize, in F. Valdez,Jr (ed.), The Programme for Belize Archaeological Project: the 1996Season. Austin (TX): Institute of Latin American Studies The Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) was set up in 1965 at the University of London, with the objective of providing postgraduate level teaching and a focus for research on the literature, history, politics and economics of Latin America and the Caribbean. , University OfTexas. LOHSE, J.C. & J. HAGEMAN. 1997. Politically-influencedmigration in northwestern Belize. Proposal submitted to the Foundationfor Mesoamerican Studies, Inc., Crystal River (FL). MCANANY, P. 1995. Living with the ancestors: kinship and kingshipin ancient Maya society. Austin (TX): University of Texas Press. MARTIN, S. & N. GRUBE. 1995. Maya superstates, Archaeology 48:41-6. PYBURN, K.A. 1990. Settlement patterns at Nohmul, in T.P. Culbert& D.S. Rice (ed.), Precolumbian population history in the MayaLowlands: 183-97. Albuquerque (NM): University of New Mexico Press. RICE, D.S. 1993. Eighth-century physical geography, environment,and natural resources in the Maya Lowlands, in J.A. Sabloff & J.A.Henderson (ed.), Lowland Maya civilization in the eighth century AD:11-63. Washington (DC): Dumbarton Oaks. ROBICHAUX, H.R. 1995. Ancient Maya community patterns innorthwestern Belize: peripheral zone survey at La Milpa and Dos Hombres.Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, University of Texas, Austin (TX). SAUER, C.O. 1955. The agency of man on the earth, in W.L. Thomas,Jr (ed.), Man's role in changing the face of the Earth: 49-69.Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including . SCARBOROUGH, V.L. 1993. Water management for the Southern MayaLowlands: an accretive model for the engineered landscape, in V. L.Scarborough & B. Isaac (ed.), Economic aspects of water managementin the prehispanic New World: 17-68. Greenwich (CT): JAI JAI Java Advanced ImagingJAI Justice et Affaires Interi��ures (French: Justice and Home Affairs)JAI Journal of ASTM InternationalJAI Just An IdeaJAI Jazz Alliance InternationalJAI Joint Africa Institute Press. Researchin Economic Anthropology Supplement 7. 1998. The ecology of ritual: water management and the Maya, LatinAmerican Antiquity 9: 135-59. SCARBOROUGH, V.L., M.E. BECHER, J.L. BAKER, G. HARRIS, & J.D.HENSZ. 1992. Water management studies at La Milpa, Belize. Report onfile at Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati. SCARBOROUGH, V.L., M.E. BECHER, J.L. BAKER, G. HARRIS & F.VALDEZ, JR. 1995. Water and land at the ancient Maya community of LaMilpa, Latin American Antiquity 6: 98-119. SCARBOROUGH, V.L. & N.P. DUNNING. 1996. An accretive model ofancient Maya land and water use in northwestern Belize. ProposalSBR-963-1024 on file at the National Science Foundation, Washington(DC). SCHELE, L. 1995. Sprouts and the early symbolism of rulers inMesoamerica, in Grube (ed.): 117-36. SCHELE, L. & D. FREIDEL. 1990. A forest of kings: the untoldstory of the ancient Maya. New York (NY): William Morrow. THOMAS, J. 1993. The politics of vision and the archaeologies oflandscape, in B. Bender (ed.), Landscape politics and perspectives:19-48. Oxford: Berg. TOURTELLOT III, G., N. HAMMOND & J. ROSE. 1995. Reversals offortune: settlement processes at La Milpa, Belize. Paper presented atthe 1st International Symposium of Maya Archaeology, San Ignacio,Belize. TOURTELLOT III, G., J.J. ROSE, N. GRUBE, S. DONAGHEY & N.HAMMOND. 1994. More light on La Milpa: Maya settlement archaeology innorthwestern Belize, Mexicon 16: 119-24. TURNER II, B.L. 1983. Once beneath the forest: prehistoricterracing in the Rio Dec Region of the Maya Lowlands. Boulder (CO):Westview Press. VALDEZ, JR, F., R.E.W. ADAMS, V. SCARBOROUGH & N. DUNNING.1997. The Programme for Belize Archaeological Project: a historicaloverview. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society forAmerican Archaeology, Nashville. WHEATLEY, P. 1967. City as symbol. London: University of London For most practical purposes, ranging from admission of students to negotiating funding from the government, the 19 constituent colleges are treated as individual universities. Within the university federation they are known as Recognised Bodies .