The Maya and Environmental Stress from Past to Present: Human response and adaptation to climate change in the Maya lowlands

Description

Both the perceived successes and failures of the Maya are often linked to their relationship with the local environment and their response to episodes of climate change over a period of nearly 2000 years. However, our understanding of human responses to environmental stress has mostly been shaped by a narrow focus on drought as a cause for societal collapse, even in relatively well-watered tropical regions. We still know little about the choices humans make in response to extreme variability in rainfall in different environmental conditions and on multiple timescales. This work responds to recent debates and new analytical opportunities in Maya studies, provided by developments such as an increased volume of paleoclimatic data, the growing field of settlement archaeology and advances in Maya epigraphy. By combining a range of evidence, the book explores the relationship between Maya society and the local environment on multiple spatial and temporal scales, while also considering socio-cultural agencies. In addition, results from ethnographic fieldwork among contemporary Maya communities provide insights into the impact of stress-inducing climatic events on people's lives and their coping strategies. These serve as a guide when looking for similar patterns in archaeological and textual evidence. FrontCover Title page Copyright page Series Editors Page Other titles in the subseries Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures List of Tables Abstract 1. Introduction 2. Setting the Scene: The Physical and HumanGeographies of the Central Lowlands 2.1. Environmental setting 2.2. Case study regions 2.2.1. The Belize River Valley and Peten Lakes region 2.2.2. Northern Yucatan and Northern Quintana Roo 3 .Problematising Climate Change, Droughtand Human Responses 3.1. From weather to climate, from present to past –the theoretical context 3.2. Examining human-environment relationshipsin the Maya lowlands 3.2.1. Climate impact: Regional patterns 3.2.2. Settlement survey evidence 3.2.3. Subsistence and water management strategies 3.2.4. Exploration of ritual activity in written records 4. Human Responses to Environmental Stress:Ethnographic and Ethnohistoric Insight 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Weather, climate and drought 4.3. Geographic, climatic and ethnic backgroundof the case study areas 4.4. Interviews 4.4.1. Cayo District – San Antonio 4.4.2. Arenal/Hydro Road (North Vaca Plateau) 4.4.3. San José Succotz 4.4.4. Toledo District – Crique Sarco/Graham Creek 4.5. Contemporary religious practicesrelated to drought 4.5.1. Drought rituals in the Toledo District 4.5.2. Drought rituals in the Cayo District 4.5.3. ‘Superstitions’ 4.6. Comparing people’s perceptions andthe rainfall data 4.6.1. Summary of rainfall data analysis 4.7. Archival data 4.8. Understanding environmental stress:combining perceptions, responses and data 5. Palaeoclimatic Reconstructions 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Long-term precipitation proxies 5.3. Palaeoclimate records – short summary 5.4. Quantitative estimates of droughts 5.5. Driving mechanisms of drought 6. Settlement Patterns 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Regional settlement histories through time 6.2.1. Belize Valley 6.2.2. Peten Lakes region 6.2.3. Northern Yucatan Peninsula 6.3. Changes in settlement patterns 6.3.1. Belize Valley and Peten Lakes 6.3.2. Northern Yucatan Peninsula 6.4. Comparison of occupation data with localpalaeoclimatic records 6.4.1. Belize Valley and Peten Lakes region 6.4.2. Northern Yucatan Peninsula 6.5. Evaluation of drivers behind changes insettlement patterns 6.5.1. Distinguishing between the factors 7. Agricultural Strategies and Water Management 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Agricultural and water managementstrategies – Belize Valley/Peten Lakes 7.2.1. Belize Valley 7.2.2. Peten Lakes region 7.3. Agricultural and water management strategies –The Northern Yucatan Peninsula 7.3.1. Northwestern Yucatan (northwest karst plain) 7.3.2. Central Yucatan (northeast karst plain) 7.3.3. The northeast Yucatan 7.4. Why did agricultural and water managementstrategies change? 7.4.1. Population pressure 7.4.2. Land degradation 7.4.3. Drying trends 7.4.4. Socio-political complexity 7.4.5. Implications of agricultural and watermanagement changes 7.5. Summary 8. Epigraphic Insights into Culture, Society and Climate Change 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Cultural and political history 8.2.1. Eastern Central Lowlands 8.2.2. Relations between Naranjo, Caracol and otherCentral Belize sites 8.2.3. Northern Yucatan Peninsula 8.3. Changes in the written records fromthe Classic to the Postclassic period 8.3.1. Change in the focus of the Terminal Classic texts 8.3.2. Stelae scene composition: from captive-takingto conversation 8.3.3. Independence claims by secondary centres 8.3.4. Iconographic, stylistic and linguistic differences 8.4. Change in written records as a potentialresponse to water scarcity 8.4.1. Rain-beckoning rituals 8.4.2. Possible Classic Maya parallels 8.4.3 Analytical approach and data 8.4.4. The seasonality of at and chok statements 8.4.5. Palaeoclimate and at and chok statements 8.4.6. Spatial patterning of at and chok statements 8.4.7. Specific occasion rituals 8.5. Discussion Appendices 9. Two Millennia of Human Response to Environmental Stressin the Maya Lowlands: Interweaving Narratives 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Interweaving narratives and evidence 9.2.1. Coping strategies in the written andarchaeological records 9.2.2. Political disintegration 9.2.3. Demographic collapse 9.3. Recurring patterns from the Preclassicto Classic to Postclassic 9.3.1. Terminal Preclassic/Early Classic versusTerminal Classic/Postclassic 9.3.2. Maya collapse(s) 9.4. Environmental conditions and Maya resilience 9.5. Precipitating change: Lessons for the future References Back-Cover