NSF/SBE-RCUK Maya Archaeology and Palaeoecology Partnership Project

古代玛雅人是过去研究最多的文明之一。它们以其精致的建筑、象形文字铭文、天历和神圣的统治以及相关的仪式而闻名。然而，它们也因在大约1000年前突然“消失”而闻名。古典文明的“崩溃”被认为是由日益严重的干旱和环境疏忽以及无法适应这些气候压力造成的。这是一种过于简单化的叙述，因为玛雅人从未消失过，但在等级制度的古典社会急剧衰落后，他们就消失了。玛雅人目前居住在墨西哥、伯利兹、危地马拉和洪都拉斯的部分地区，那里有20多种不同的玛雅语言。古典社会的崩溃也不是在所有玛雅中心都发生，也不是在同一时间发生的。16世纪西班牙人到达墨西哥时，位于墨西哥旅游海岸的玛雅仪式中心图卢姆魅力十足、上镜。玛雅考古和古生态合作项目(MAPPP)详细研究了古代玛雅社会和气候变化之间的复杂关系，考虑到人们如何管理他们的资源和耕种他们的土地。MAPPP重点关注伯利兹河谷，这是一个玛雅地区，在古典时期之后经历了衰落，但在崩溃后，一些仪式中心继续被占领。MAPPP将超越“干旱导致的崩塌”的简单叙述，以确定古代玛雅人在面临气候不稳定时采取了哪些适应策略。在这里，我们问：在极端干旱的情况下，古代玛雅人是如何改变他们的土地利用策略的？他们是如何继续占领到后古典时期(崩溃之后)的？他们是否改变了他们的耕作和生活方式？这些问题将通过检查埋葬的数量和时间来回答，以衡量人口如何随着时间的变化而变化。MAPPP将研究文物和纪念碑建筑，以了解人们如何决定在贸易和建筑方面使用他们的资源，以及这些资源如何随着气候压力的变化而变化。将使用湖泊沉积物中的地球化学和微化石(花粉、木炭和藻类遗骸)签名来重建古代玛雅人的环境，这些签名记录了它们被沉积时周围环境的性质。通过结合所有这些不同的证据，我们将建立一幅古典社会如何与他们的物理世界互动的图景，以及这种变化是如何应对极端气候事件的。MAPPP将提供对不同土地利用系统在发生气候变化时的复原力和可持续性的了解，气候变化是当前的环境关切，因为伯利兹正面临来自旅游业、发展和农业企业的越来越大的压力。

The ancient Maya are one of the most studied past civilisations. They are renown for their elaborate architecture, hieroglyphic inscriptions, celestial calendar, and divine rulership with associated ritual. They are also known, however, for their sudden 'disappearance' around 1000 years ago. The 'collapse' of the Classic civilisation is argued to have been caused by increasing drought and environmental negligence and an inability to adapt to these climate pressures. This is an over-simplistic narrative, because the Maya never disappeared, but they dispersed after the dramatic decline of the hierarchical Classic society. The Maya currently reside in parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras where over 20 different Maya languages are spoken. Nor did the collapse of the Classic society occur in all Maya centres, nor at the same time. The charismatic and photogenic Maya ceremonial centre of Tulum on Mexico's tourist coast was still occupied at the time of Spanish arrival in the 16th century. The 'Maya Archaeology and Palaeoecology Partnership Project' (MAPPP) examines in detail this complex relationship between ancient Maya society and climate change, taking into account how people managed their resources and farmed their land. MAPPP focuses on the Belize River Valley, a Maya region that experienced decline after the Classic period, but some occupation of ceremonial centres continued following the collapse. MAPPP will move beyond the simple narrative of 'drought caused collapse' to determine what adaption strategies were adopted by the ancient Maya as they faced climate instability. Here, we ask: How did the ancient Maya change their land use strategies in the event of extreme drought? How did they continue occupation into the post-Classic period (following collapse)? Did they change how they farmed and lived? These questions will be answered by examining the numbers and timings of burials to gauge how populations changed through time. MAPPP will examine artefacts and monumental construction to understand how people decided to use their resources with respect to trade and building and how these changed with climate pressures. The environments of the Ancient Maya will be recreated using geochemical and microfossil (pollen, charcoal and algal remains) signatures in lake sediments that archive the nature of the surrounding environments at the time they were deposited. By combining all of these different lines of evidence, we will build up a picture of how the Classic society interacted with their physical world and how this changed in response to extreme climate events. MAPPP will provide understanding on the resilience and sustainability of different land use systems in the event of climate change, which are current environmental concerns as Belize is under increasing pressures from tourism, development, and agro-business.