Nucleation of population and water storage among the ancient maya.
Nucleation of population and water storage among the ancient maya.
复制标题
古代玛雅人的人口聚集和水储存。
作者：
R. Adams
玛雅低地城市的史前发展是一个传统的争论点。近年来，人们已经接受，至少某些玛雅中心无疑取得了城市地位。蒂卡尔是一个最好的有据可查的例子，在公元750年左右，估计有6万到8万人口（1），但也有一些其他有据可查的例子。必须记住，工业化前的城市比现在的城市中心小几个数量级。例如，16世纪早期的英格兰只有一个人口为5万的城市，即伦敦，而当时大多数英国城市的居民都在3,500人左右。玛雅低地城市发展的一个主要因素是在漫长的旱季维持大量人口的能力。玛雅地区的热带低地占地约250，000平方公里，其中约一半由于喀斯特地形而缺乏重要的地下水源。气候状况是明显的干湿季节交替。旱季约为4个月。因此，在该地区的大部分地区，为了在旱季维持人口，古玛雅人建造了蓄水池作为其城市结构的组成部分。对几个古代遗址的水文学进行了初步研究，通常是系统制图的附带结果。根据其中一项研究，蒂卡尔拥有足够的储存能力，可储存40 × 106加仑的水（3）。然而，Scarborough等人报告说，这种储水设施可能被严重低估了（4）。这将增加供应方面。在需求方面，由于古代的主要建筑工程似乎主要在旱季进行，因此需要更多的水来生产砂浆和其他建筑材料。贝坎和蒂卡尔的大规模恢复项目的经验表明，主要的户外建筑工程最好在旱季（1月至4月）进行，尽管有些工程也可以在雨季初期（5月至7月）进行。此外，在干旱季节，无论农业生产强度如何，都会出现一个间歇期，从而腾出劳动力来从事大规模采石、积聚建筑填料和准备大量砂浆等野蛮工作。在前古典时期，大约在公元前1000年到公元250年之间，对古代玛雅人口的分散力量包括转移农业的做法。随着人口在这些时期的增长，它也倾向于通过空间扩展。任何有核定居点都需要一个永久的水源作为先决条件，如河流或泉水。缺乏这种天然资源的，
T_-HE PREHISTORIC DEVELOPMENT OF CITIES IN THE MAYA Lowlands has been a traditional point of controversy. In recent years, it has been accepted that at least certain Maya centers undoubtedly achieved urban status. Tikal is the best documented example, with an estimated population of60,000 to 80,000 around A.D. 750 (1), but there are a number of other welldocumented cases. It must be remembered that preindustrial cities were several orders ofmagnitude smaller than present urban centers. Early 16th-century England, for example, possessed only one city of 50,000 people, London, and most English cities of the time had about 3,500 inhabitants (2). A major element in urban development in the Maya Lowlands was the capacity to sustain large populations through a long dry season. The tropical lowlands of the Maya area occupy some 250,000 km2 ofwhich about half lack significant sources ofground water because of karst topography. The climatic regime is one in which pronounced dry and wet seasons alternate. The dry season is approximately 4 months long. Therefore, for much of the area, and in order to sustain human population during the dry season, the ancient Maya built water impoundments as integral parts of their urban fabrics. The hydrology of several ancient sites have been studied in a preliminary manner, usually incidental to systematic mapping. Tikal possessed sufficient storage capacity for 40 x 106 gallons of water, according to one of these studies (3). However, Scarborough et al. report that such water storage facilities may have been seriously underestimated (4). This would increase the supply side. On the demand side, because it seems likely that ancient major building projects were mainly carried out during the dry season, even more water would have been required for mortar and other construction materials. Experience at Becan and Tikal in large-scale restoration projects has demonstrated that major outdoors construction work is best carried on during the dry season (January to April), although some work is also possible during the early rainy season (May to July). Further, there is a lull in the agricultural cycle, ofwhatever intensity, during the dry season, thus releasing labor for the brute tasks of large-scale stone quarrying, amassing construction fill, and preparing large quantities of mortar. During the Preclassic, between about 1000 B.C. and A.D. 250, dispersing forces acting on ancient Maya populations included the practice of shifting agriculture. As population grew during these periods, it also tended to expand through space. Any nucleated settlement demanded as a prior condition a permanent source of water such as a river or springs. Lacking such natural sources in