The perfect storm: climate change and ancient Maya response in the Puuc Hills region of Yucatán

Climatic fluctuation is often cited as a major factor in the collapse of Maya civilisation during the Terminal Classic Period (e.g. Luzzadder-Beach et al. 2016). Evidence of how people dealt or failed to deal with it has only recently become a more widespread focus for archaeologists. Investigations...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAntiquity Vol. 91; no. 356; pp. 490 - 509
Main Authors Smyth, Michael P., Dunning, Nicholas P., Weaver, Eric M., van Beynen, Philip, Zapata, David Ortegón
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.04.2017
Subjects
Agriculture
Analysis
Anthropological research
Archaeology
Caves
Climate change
Climatic changes
Drought
Droughts
Environmental aspects
Excavation
Extremes
Floods
Mayan civilization
Mayas
Mexico
Population decline
Prone
Speleothems
Storms
Mexico
Yucatan Peninsula
Yucatán
drought
Maya
speleothem
Mexico
flooding
Xcoch
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Climatic fluctuation is often cited as a major factor in the collapse of Maya civilisation during the Terminal Classic Period (e.g. Luzzadder-Beach et al. 2016). Evidence of how people dealt or failed to deal with it has only recently become a more widespread focus for archaeologists. Investigations at Xcoch in the Puuc Hills show the various ways in which resident populations sought to manage water stores when faced with a climate prone to drought and other meteorological extremes. The study also presents results from the analysis of nearby speleothem laminae, which indicate that severe episodes of flooding and droughts may have contributed to a collapse in the population around AD 850.
ISSN:0003-598X
1745-1744
DOI:10.15184/aqy.2016.266