Drought, agricultural adaptation, and sociopolitical collapse in the Maya Lowlands
Drought, agricultural adaptation, and sociopolitical collapse in the Maya Lowlands
复制标题
DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1419133112
复制
发表时间：
2015-05-05
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Curtis, Jason H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Douglas, Peter M. J.;Pagani, Mark;Curtis, Jason H.
古气候记录表明，一系列严重的干旱与古典时期（类似于公元800-950年）的古典玛雅社会崩溃有关。干旱的证据主要来自干燥、人口较少的北方玛雅低地，但不能解释相对潮湿的南方玛雅低地更明显、更早的社会破坏。在这里，我们申请氢和碳同位素组成的植物蜡脂在两个湖泊沉积物芯评估水的可用性和土地利用的变化，在北方和南部玛雅低地。我们发现，相对更激烈的干燥发生在南部低地比在北方低地在终端经典时期，与早期和更持久的社会衰退在南部一致。我们的研究结果还表明，从公元200年开始，玛雅南部低地经历了一段时间的大幅干旱。到公元500年在终端Preclassic和早期经典时期。植物蜡碳同位素记录表明，在两个湖泊集水区的C-4植物在早期古典时期的下降，解释反映了从粗放型农业到集约化，水分保守的玉米种植，是由干燥的气候的动机。我们的研究结果意味着，农业适应早期干旱的发展最初是成功的，但在更严重的干旱的终端经典时期失败。
Paleoclimate records indicate a series of severe droughts was associated with societal collapse of the Classic Maya during the Terminal Classic period (similar to 800-950 C.E.). Evidence for drought largely derives from the drier, less populated northern Maya Lowlands but does not explain more pronounced and earlier societal disruption in the relatively humid southern Maya Lowlands. Here we apply hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of plant wax lipids in two lake sediment cores to assess changes in water availability and land use in both the northern and southern Maya lowlands. We show that relatively more intense drying occurred in the southern lowlands than in the northern lowlands during the Terminal Classic period, consistent with earlier and more persistent societal decline in the south. Our results also indicate a period of substantial drying in the southern Maya Lowlands from similar to 200 C.E. to 500 C.E., during the Terminal Preclassic and Early Classic periods. Plant wax carbon isotope records indicate a decline in C-4 plants in both lake catchments during the Early Classic period, interpreted to reflect a shift from extensive agriculture to intensive, water-conservative maize cultivation that was motivated by a drying climate. Our results imply that agricultural adaptations developed in response to earlier droughts were initially successful, but failed under the more severe droughts of the Terminal Classic period.