Ancient Maya Agroforestry and Water Management Systems at Tikal

在国家科学基金会的支持下，大卫Lentz博士，Nicholas Dunning博士和弗农Scarborough博士沿着一个国际科学家团队将在危地马拉北方的蒂卡尔遗址进行两个季节的考古和古环境实地研究。这项研究的目的是建立一个更好的了解蒂卡尔的古玛雅人和他们的当地环境之间的相互作用。特别令人感兴趣的将是建设和维持其伟大城市所需的森林资源，以及遗址核心和周边地区水管理系统的性质和复杂性。在这项研究中要解决的主要理论问题的重点是如何在北方佩滕古玛雅人能够维持大量的人口在一个热带森林环境中的晚期古典时期挥之不去的关注。 这一问题的一个必然结果是，农业集约化是如何实现的，其他基本资源，如水和森林产品是如何管理的。 特别是，该小组对蒂卡尔灌溉系统的发展感兴趣，因为它们有助于农业活动、森林砍伐和季节性湿地的开发。 所有这些活动都是最初可持续土地利用战略的重要组成部分，但最终未能满足不断增加的人口的需求。这种与合理的生态原则的螺旋式脱节，加上气候变化的潜在加剧因素，无疑促成了玛雅的崩溃。“此外，据推测，蒂卡尔的水库和小湖是政治杠杆和集中社会权力的支点。测试这些假设将提供的见解，将扩大社会复杂性的崛起，特别是玛雅政治经济的扩张，并在一般情况下，文化演变的轨迹的理解。此外，这项调查将提供至关重要的数据，以回答古代玛雅文明最伟大和持久的奥秘之一：土地使用活动的作用，因为他们促成了玛雅城市中心的兴衰。这项研究的更广泛的影响可以在与考古研究和教育有关的五个具体目标中观察到。 目标是：1）推进考古学的发现，同时促进实践培训，教学和学习，2）完成本调查的各个方面并广泛传播结果，3）通过为辛辛那提大学的研究生和本科生以及来自其他美国和危地马拉大学的学生教授地质考古学现场方法课程，加强研究和教育的基础设施，4）通过向城市学者和目前没有代表性的少数群体提供实地研究机会，扩大代表性不足的群体对科学的参与，5）通过对广泛的时间尺度上的环境问题的深入理解，并通过培训一批新的、多样化的环境考古学家，使他们成为明天的领导者和教师，从而为社会带来利益。

With support from the National Science Foundation, Drs. David Lentz, Nicholas Dunning and Vernon Scarborough, along with an international team of scientists, will conduct two seasons of archaeological and paleoenvironmental field research at the Tikal site in northern Guatemala. The purpose of this study is to establish a greater understanding of the interaction between the ancient Maya of Tikal and their local environment. Of particular interest will be the forest resources required to build and sustain their great city and the nature and complexity of the water management system in the site core and the surrounding area. The primary theoretical question to be addressed in this study focuses on the lingering concern of how the ancient Maya in the northern Petén were able to sustain large populations in the midst of a tropical forest environment during the Late Classic period. A corollary to this question asks how agricultural intensification was achieved and how other essential resources, such as water and forest products, were managed. In particular, the team is interested in the development of irrigation systems at Tikal as they contributed to agricultural activity, forest clearance and exploitation of the seasonal wetlands. All of these activities were essential components of an initially sustainable land use strategy that eventually failed to meet the demands of an escalating population. This spiraling disconnect with sound ecological principles, coupled with the potentially exacerbating factor of climate change, undoubtedly contributed to the Maya "collapse." Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the reservoirs and small lakes of Tikal served as a fulcrum of political leverage and concentrated social power. Testing these hypotheses will provide insights that will broaden understanding of the rise of social complexity, the expansion of the Maya political economy specifically and, in general terms, the trajectory of cultural evolution. Moreover, this investigation will provide data vital to answering one of the greatest and enduring mysteries of the ancient Maya civilization: the role of land use activities as they contributed to the rise and fall of Maya urban centers.The broader impacts of the study can be observed in five specific goals relating to archaeological research and education. The goals are: 1) to advance discovery in archaeology while promoting hands-on training, teaching and learning, 2) to complete all aspects of this investigation and disseminate the results broadly, 3) to enhance the infrastructure for research and education through the teaching of a geoarchaeology field methods class for University of Cincinnati graduate and undergraduate students, as well as students from other US and Guatemalan universities, 4) to broaden participation from underrepresented groups in science by offering opportunities for field research to urban scholars and underrepresented minorities where none currently exist, and 5) to accrue benefits to society through the generation of advanced understanding of environmental issues across broad time scales and through the training of a new diverse cadre of environmental archaeologists who will become the leaders and teachers of tomorrow.