Ancient Maya wetland fields revealed under tropical forest canopy from laser scanning and multiproxy evidence
Ancient Maya wetland fields revealed under tropical forest canopy from laser scanning and multiproxy evidence
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1910553116
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发表时间：
2019-10-22
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Doyle, Colin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Beach, Timothy;Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl;Doyle, Colin
我们报告了一个大面积的古玛雅湿地领域系统的伯利兹，中美洲，机载激光雷达调查的基础上，再加上多个代理和放射性碳年代，揭示古代领域的用途和年表。激光雷达调查显示了湿地复合体的四个主要区域，其中包括天堂鸟湿地复合体，其面积是早期远程和地面调查的五倍，并揭示了一个以前未知的湿地复合体，其面积甚至更大。磁场系统主要可以追溯到玛雅晚期和晚期经典（类似于1，400 - 1，000年前），但证据早在前经典晚期（类似于1，800年前）和后期经典早期（类似于900年前）。先前的研究表明，这些是多元文化系统，种植典型的古代玛雅作物，包括玉米，竹芋，南瓜，鳄梨和其他水果和收获的动物。湿地在人口膨胀、景观改变和干旱的时期很活跃，可能是对玛雅文明所有这些重大转变的适应。这些湿地耕作系统为人类对全球热带地区的早期和广泛影响提供了证据。更广泛的证据表明，在玛雅低地和美洲的湿地农业生态系统的广泛分布，我们假设大气中的二氧化碳和甲烷的燃烧，准备和维护这些领域的系统有助于早期人类世的增加。
We report on a large area of ancient Maya wetland field systems in Belize, Central America, based on airborne lidar survey coupled with multiple proxies and radiocarbon dates that reveal ancient field uses and chronology. The lidar survey indicated four main areas of wetland complexes, including the Birds of Paradise wetland field complex that is five times larger than earlier remote and ground survey had indicated, and revealed a previously unknown wetland field complex that is even larger. The field systems date mainly to the Maya Late and Terminal Classic (similar to 1,400-1,000 y ago), but with evidence from as early as the Late Preclassic (similar to 1,800 y ago) and as late as the Early Postclassic (similar to 900 y ago). Previous study showed that these were polycultural systems that grew typical ancient Maya crops including maize, arrowroot, squash, avocado, and other fruits and harvested fauna. The wetland fields were active at a time of population expansion, landscape alteration, and droughts and could have been adaptations to all of these major shifts in Maya civilization. These wetland-farming systems add to the evidence for early and extensive human impacts on the global tropics. Broader evidence suggests a wide distribution of wetland agroecosystems across the Maya Lowlands and Americas, and we hypothesize the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane from burning, preparing, and maintaining these field systems contributed to the Early Anthropocene.