Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Remote Sensing and the Late Classic (AD 650-850) Maya Utilization of Bajos (Seasonal Swamps) at Tikal and Yaxha, Peten, Guatemala

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Under the supervision of Dr. Payson D. Sheets, Errin Weller will analyze data gathered from satellite imagery and ground survey to look for archaeological features in low-lying bajos (seasonally inundated swamps) in the Peten, Guatemala. The research will focus on two locations: 1) Tikal, one of the largest and mostly densely occupied sites in the ancient Maya world, located on the banks of the Bajo de Santa Fe; 2) Yaxha, a smaller site in direct association with the Bajo la Justa. Possible landscape modifications of the bajos include structures, raised agricultural fields, canals for irrigation, roadways crossing the bajos, and terraces for agriculture. Weller's research will investigate the nature and extent of modification of these two bajos constructed between AD 650 and AD 850, the period of most intense Maya habitation. Research focusing on bajos is important because they compose approximately 40% of the land surface occupied by the ancient Maya and are currently considered by the majority of archaeologists to have been unutilized. Dense populations are in evidence at sites such as Tikal and Yaxha, but the means by which these populations were supported are not completely understood. Bajos as the possible locations of intensive agricultural production may provide an explanation for feeding the high number of people. Habitation within the bajos will alter not only population estimates but also models of settlements that focus on uplands and understandings of how the ancient Maya people utilized their environment. Furthermore, documenting archaeological features within the bajos will revise population estimates, re-evaluate models of settlements, and prove valuable for archaeological understandings of agricultural technology of the ancient Maya. This project has broader impacts beyond research questions pertaining to Maya archaeology or the social sciences. This research will impact both contemporary people residing in bajo areas and scholars studying wetland reclamation in tropical environments and beyond. If the ancient Maya utilized the bajos, it is a rare instance of wetland (or swamp) reclamation resulting in an increase in biodiversity and could provide a sustainable technology for modern populations. Ancient utilization of bajos for subsistence may provide a sustainable technology in an area currently experiencing an influx of settlers practicing unsustainable destructive agriculture. Slash-and-burn agriculture is an extensive use of land, as opposed to intensive wetland agriculture, in an area where land is at a premium and population pressure is increasing. Replacing such practices will have far-reaching affects on both modern habitat and climate. Furthermore, the project will provide a new model to explore for researchers in the New World and in tropical areas of the Old World. The results of this research will be disseminated in English and Spanish in professional papers presented at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journal articles. Lastly, all project participants will gain training in the methods of satellite imagery analysis for the detection of archaeological features.