A5029058604- Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
- Archaeology and Natural History
- Latin American history and culture
- American Environmental and Regional History
- Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies
- Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Archaeological Research and Protection
- Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Cuban History and Society
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Maritime and Coastal Archaeology
- Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation
- Archaeology and Rock Art Studies
- Mexican Socioeconomic and Environmental Dynamics
- Geological formations and processes
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
- Marine and fisheries research
- Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis
- Latin American and Latino Studies
- African Botany and Ecology Studies
- Education and Labor Relations
The University of Texas at Austin
2013-2024
University of British Columbia
2006
University of Arizona
2003
Washington State University
2003
The University of Texas at San Antonio
1977-1984
General Services Administration
1979
Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office
1978
Natural Resources Conservation Service
1978
Watershed Center
1977
Foundation for the Advancement in Research in Medicine
1977
The access to water and the engineered landscapes accommodating its collection allocation are pivotal issues for assessing sustainability. Recent mapping, sediment coring, formal excavation at Tikal, Guatemala, have markedly expanded our understanding of ancient Maya land use. Among landscape engineering feats identified largest dam in area Central America; posited manner by which reservoir waters were released; construction a cofferdam dredging Tikal; presence springs linked initial...
We report on a large area of ancient Maya wetland field systems in Belize, Central America, based airborne lidar survey coupled with multiple proxies and radiocarbon dates that reveal uses chronology. The indicated four main areas complexes, including the Birds Paradise complex is five times larger than earlier remote ground had indicated, revealed previously unknown even larger. date mainly to Late Terminal Classic (∼1,400-1,000 y ago), but evidence from as early Preclassic (∼1,800 ago)...
Abstract Humans have a long history of transporting and trading plants, contributing to the evolution domesticated plants. Theobroma cacao originated in Neotropics from South America. However, little is known about its domestication use these regions. In this study, ceramic residues large sample pre-Columbian cultures Central America were analyzed using archaeogenomic biochemical approaches. Here we show, for first time, widespread out native Amazonian area origin, extending back 5000 years,...
Significance The rise of complex societies and sustainable land use associated with urban centers has been a major focus for anthropologists, geographers, ecologists. Here we present quantitative assessment the agricultural, agroforestry, water management strategies inhabitants prominent ancient Maya city Tikal, how their practices effectively sustained low-density population many centuries. Our findings also reveal, however, that productive landscape surrounding managed to brink its...
Abstract Understanding civilizations of the past and how they emerge eventually falter is a primary research focus archaeological investigations because these provocative data sets offer critical insights into long-term human behavior patterns, especially in regard to land use practices sustainable environmental interactions. The ancient Maya serve as an intriguing example this focus, yet details their spectacular emergence tropical forest environment followed by eventual demise have...
Forty-three years later these words still ring true, but are too seldom followed (Fedick 1996). For several years, we have been engaged in a multidisciplinary programme of research northwestern Belize and neighbouring areas Guatemala, eliciting comprehensive, integrated picture changing ancient Maya landscapes (Scarborough & Dunning 1996; Valdez et al. 1997). Our goals include reconstructive correlation environmental cultural history, including the relationship between changes water land...
Abstract Evidence from preceramic Paleoindian and Archaic time periods in Belize has been recorded over the past quarter of a century by number projects. This paper summarizes previously published information presents new archaeological data bringing hunting-and-gathering itinerant horticultural millennia this region into more accurate comprehensive perspective than presented to date. The period includes influences North as well South America, with settlement preferences shown for river...
Spouted vessels are diagnostic forms of Middle Preclassic (1000–400 B. C.) and Late (400 C.-A. D. 250) Maya ceramic assemblages. Mayanists have traditionally called these “chocolate pots,” but until recently there has been little direct evidence to support this interpretation. In fact, few studies focused on the role specialized played in daily social ritual activities ancient Maya. This paper provides a contextual functional analysis spouted found across lowlands highlands. Additionally,...
This is the first article to characterize soil and fluvial geomorphology of Rio Bravo’s fluviokarst watershed in Bravo Conservation Management Area, northwestern Belize. Although has had little-altered tropical forest cover since c. 1000 BP, humans inhabited it for millennia, especially during Maya Preclassic Classic, 3000–1000 BP. We studied soils floodplain formation four excavation transects understand long-term human impacts on this watershed. Archaic ( 3000–1700 BP) sedimentation rates...
The Late Preclassic to Classic period (400 B. C.-A. D. 900) Maya community of La Milpa, Belize, has recently revealed an ancient water and land-use system. As demonstrated at other southern Lowland sites, the created a microwatershed store convey during four months seasonal drought. In addition conservation measures associated with reservoirs, deliberate channelization, diversion weirs, postulated fields, importance rainy-season erosion control is indicated. Given population densities...
Abstract Harkening back to the debates associated with “dualistic economies” in addressing emerging nation states, we examine aspects of ancient economy lowland Maya. Resource-specialized communities were knit together a network interdependencies that allowed high degrees self-sustaining separation from large monumental centers about which know most. The social and biophysical environs Maya permitted multiple economic spheres influenced their political organization affected lack developed...
ABSTRACT The ancient eastern Maya Lowlands are characterized by both small, highly resilient communities and the growth of large regional centers. smaller communities, separated 2–5 kilometers dispersed across landscape, established a circle interdependency between one another spatial separation from largest Degrees sustainability were achieved through time way negotiated settlement land use balance within relatively fragile biophysical environment. Because tropical ecosystems identified low...
A recently described set of ceramic artifacts have been functionally assigned to saltmaking by MacKinnon and Kepecs (1989), who concluded that activity was focused on producing salt for commoners. While we are in agreement about activities along the Belizean coast, propose there perhaps oriented toward meat fish preservation transport into interior population centers during Terminal Classic period.
Abstract In 1997, the Chan Chich Archaeological Project excavated a Terminal Preclassic/Early Classic period Maya tomb at Chich, Belize. Tomb 2 represents earliest royal in Three Rivers Region of east-central Yucatan Peninsula and has striking similarities to Burial 85 Tikal, dynastic founder Yax Ehb' Xook. This paper describes its contents considers significance within context significant political cultural changes that marked transition from Late Preclassic Early period. We argue is an...
ABSTRACT Archaeologists have begun to understand that many of the challenges facing our technologically sophisticated, resource dependent, urban systems were also destabilizing factors in ancient complex societies. The focus IHOPE‐Maya is identify how humans living tropical Maya Lowlands present‐day Central America responded and impacted their environments over past three millennia, relate knowledge those processes modern future coupled human–environment systems. To better frame variability...