David L Lentz
Biographic Data
| ID | 631626 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David L Lentz |
| GIVEN NAMES | David L |
| FAMILY NAME | Lentz |
| SIGNATURE | LENTZ D L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cincinnati |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0516-7654 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 40 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 481 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 39 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1986 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
Growth and decline of a sustainable city: A multitemporal perspective on blue-black-green infrastructures at the pre-Columbian Lowland Maya city of Tikal
The New Urban Agenda’s call for long-term visions in urban planning fails to recognise that ‘long-term’ implies different longevities depending on context of assessment. Compared to other social sciences, archaeological approaches add rigour to envisioning urban sustainability over several centuries and millennia. The archaeology of the pre-Columbian Lowland Maya urban tradition is an interesting case because data have been used to support confli…
Interpreting δ 13 C Values Obtained on SOM from Ancient Maya Reservoirs and Depressions
Elemental analyzer (EA) Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry was used to measure ∂ 13 C values on soil organic matter from reservoirs and depressions at the ancient Maya urban centers of Tikal, Guatemala and Yaxnohcah, Mexico. Variation in δ 13 C values on soil organic matter were > −2.0‰, which suggests enrichment from C4 plants including maize, other tropical grasses (Poaceae), and tropical sedges (Cyperaceae), CAM plants (Clusia sp.), and cyanobact…
Trees, shrubs, and forests at Joya de Cerén, a Late Classic Mesoamerican village
Landscape management and polyculture in the ancient gardens and fields at Joya de Cerén, El Salvador
The Late Classic Maya village of Joya de Cerén’s extraordinary preservation by the Loma Caldera eruption circa 660 CE allows for a unique opportunity to study ancient Mesoamerican landscape management and agricultural practices. Various fruit trees, annual and root crops, fiber producers and other useful plants were cultivated within the village center, creating productive house-lot gardens. Extensive agricultural outfields of maize, manioc, squa…
Growing the Ancient Maya Social-Ecological System from the Bottom Up
Archaeological data can be represented in quantitative models to test theories of societal growth, development, and resilience. This chapter describes the results of simulations employing integrated agent-based, cellular automata, and network models to represent elements of the ancient Maya social-ecological system. The purpose of the model is to better understand the complex dynamics of the Maya civilization and to test quantitative indicators o…
The impact of maize (Zea mays) on the stable carbon isotope values of archaeological soil organic matter
Imperial resource management at the ancient Maya city of Tikal: A resilience model of sustainability and collapse
Water uncertainty, ritual predictability and agricultural canals at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
The Pueblo population of Chaco Canyon during the Bonito Phase (AD 800–1130) employed agricultural strategies and water-management systems to enhance food cultivation in this unpredictable environment. Scepticism concerning the timing and effectiveness of this system, however, remains common. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments and LiDAR imaging, the authors located Bonito Phase canal features at the far west end of the can…
Micro-flotation removal of coal contaminants from archaeological radiocarbon samples from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA
Identifying 'plantscapes' at the Classic Maya village of Joya de Cerén, El Salvador
Catastrophic volcanism and its implication for agriculture in the Maya Lowlands
Stable carbon isotope values (δ13C) of purslane (Portulaca oleracea) and their archaeological significance
Agroforestry and ritual at the ancient Maya center of Lamanai
A New Radiocarbon Sequence from Lamanai, Belize: Two Bayesian Models from One of Mesoamerica’s Most Enduring Sites
The ancient Maya community of Lamanai, Belize, is well known for its span of occupation from the Early Preclassic (before 1630 BC) to the present. Although most centers in the central and southern Maya Lowlands were abandoned during the Terminal Classic period (AD 750–1000), ceramic and stratigraphic evidence at Lamanai has shown continuous occupation from the start of the Early Preclassic to the Spanish Conquest. In this paper, we present the fi…
Tikal: Paleoecology of an Ancient Maya City
Tikal Land, Water, and Forest: An Introduction
Phaseolus from Cerén—A Late Classic Maya Site
The Sociopolitical Economy of an Ancient Maya Village: Cerén and its Sacbe
The intellectual, artistic, and architectural accomplishments of Maya elites during the Classic period were extraordinary, and evidence of elite activities has preserved well in the archaeological record. A centuries-long research focus on elites has understandably fostered the view that they controlled the economy, politics, and religion of Maya civilization. While there has been significant progress in household archaeology, unfortunately the a…
Tropical Landscapes and the Ancient Maya: Diversity in Time and Space
Archaeologists have begun to understand that many of the challenges facing our technologically sophisticated, resource dependent, urban systems were also destabilizing factors in ancient complex societies. The focus of IHOPE-Maya is to identify how humans living in the tropical Maya Lowlands in present-day Central America responded to and impacted their environments over the past three millennia, and to relate knowledge of those processes to mode…
Water and Landscape: Ancient Maya Settlement Decisions
In this chapter we present the major transitions in Maya history from the Late Preclassic through Terminal Classic periods in the Maya Lowlands, focusing first on major settlement and subsistence systems, followed by major social and environmental costs. We particularly focus on how the Maya built and relied on increasingly complex water and agricultural systems to adapt in the humid tropics where everything in life was rainfall dependent. The se…
A Tale of Two Collapses: Environmental Variability and Cultural Disruption in the Maya Lowlands
An expanding array of data is becoming available on past climate changes affecting the Maya Lowlands region. We examine the strengths and weaknesses of these data sets, both in terms of identifying general trends and specific events. We then use these data to develop a model based on adaptive cycles that addresses both environmental and cultural changes that occurred in the Terminal Preclassic and the Terminal Classic periods in several areas of …
Use Ofaguadasas Water Management Sources in Two Southern Maya Lowland Sites
Aguadas, either natural or human-made ponds, were significant sources of water for the ancient Maya.Aguadasare common features in the Maya Lowlands and make valuable locations for collecting archaeological and paleoenvironmental data. This article discusses research conducted at fouraguadasaround two adjacent Maya sites, San Bartolo and Xultun in Peten, Guatemala. Both San Bartolo and Xultun were established during the Preclassic period. However,…
New evidence for jute (Corchorus capsularis L.) in the Indus civilization
Ancient Manioc Agriculture South of the Ceren Village, El Salvador
The role of seed crops in the Maya diet is well understood. The role of root crops in the ancient Maya diet has been controversial, with some scholars suggesting they were staples, and others arguing they were not cultivated at all. Research in the 1990s found occasional manioc plants in kitchen gardens within the Classic period Cerén village, leading to the interpretation that manioc did contribute to the diet, but was not a staple. Recent resea…
Morphometric Analysis of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Achenes from Mexico and Eastern North America1
Early Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands
Wetland research in northern Belize provides the earliest evidence for development of agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Pollen data confirm the introduction of maize and manioc before 3000 B.C. Dramatic deforestation, beginning ca. 2500 B.C. and intensifying in wetland environments ca. 1500-1300 B.C., marks an expansion of agriculture, which occurred in the context of a mixed foraging economy. By 1000 B.C. a rise in groundwater levels led farmers…
Maya Diets of the Rich and Poor: Paleoethnobotanical Evidence from Copan
Analysis of plant remains recovered from excavations at Copán in western Honduras has provided substantive data regarding agroeconomic systems of the prehistoric inhabitants. The time span of the deposits ranges from the Gordon/Uir phase (900-400 B. C.), which may have been non-Maya, to the Coner phase (A. D. 700-900+), which encompasses the collapse of the Classic Maya cultural manifestation in the valley. Several traditionally recognized mesoam…
Foodstuffs, Forests, Fields, and Shelter: A Paleoethnobotanical Analysis of Vessel Contents from the Ceren Site, El Salvador
Botanical remains found in ceramic vessels and other containers at the Cerén site, El Salvador, provide evidence for how plants were used by Classic-period inhabitants. Because of the rapid inundation of ash caused by the eruption of the Loma Caldera volcano sometime around A. D. 590, conditions for the preservation of plant parts at Cerén are superior to most other Mesoamerican sites. Carbonized plant remains, or impressions thereof, recovered f…
Wood of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Pine ( Pinus spp.) by the Ancient Lowland Maya
The recovery of pine (Pinus spp.) charcoal remains from ceremonial contexts at sites in the Maya Lowlands suggests that pine had a significant role in ancient Maya ritual activities. Data collected by the authors reveal that pine remains are a regular component of archaeobotanical assemblages from caves, sites that were used almost exclusively for ritual purposes, and that pine is often the dominant taxon of wood charcoal recovered. Comparisons w…
Tikal timbers and temples: Ancient Maya agroforestry and the end of time
Ancient Manioc Agriculture South of the Ceren Village, El Salvador
The role of seed crops in the Maya diet is well understood. The role of root crops in the ancient Maya diet has been controversial, with some scholars suggesting they were staples, and others arguing they were not cultivated at all. Research in the 1990s found occasional manioc plants in kitchen gardens within the Classic period Cerén village, leading to the interpretation that manioc did contribute to the diet, but was not a staple. Recent resea…
Use Ofaguadasas Water Management Sources in Two Southern Maya Lowland Sites
Aguadas, either natural or human-made ponds, were significant sources of water for the ancient Maya.Aguadasare common features in the Maya Lowlands and make valuable locations for collecting archaeological and paleoenvironmental data. This article discusses research conducted at fouraguadasaround two adjacent Maya sites, San Bartolo and Xultun in Peten, Guatemala. Both San Bartolo and Xultun were established during the Preclassic period. However,…
The Sociopolitical Economy of an Ancient Maya Village: Cerén and its Sacbe
The intellectual, artistic, and architectural accomplishments of Maya elites during the Classic period were extraordinary, and evidence of elite activities has preserved well in the archaeological record. A centuries-long research focus on elites has understandably fostered the view that they controlled the economy, politics, and religion of Maya civilization. While there has been significant progress in household archaeology, unfortunately the a…
Identifying 'plantscapes' at the Classic Maya village of Joya de Cerén, El Salvador
Pine, prestige and politics of the Late Classic Maya at Xunantunich, Belize
Comparing the source of a commodity with the social levels of the people amongst whom it is found can reveal important aspects of social structure. This case study of a Maya community, using archaeological and ethnographic data, shows that pine and pine charcoal was procured at a distance and distributed unevenly in settlements. The researchers deduce that this commodity was not freely available in the market place, but was subject to political c…
Prehistoric sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.) domestication in Mexico
Water uncertainty, ritual predictability and agricultural canals at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
The Pueblo population of Chaco Canyon during the Bonito Phase (AD 800–1130) employed agricultural strategies and water-management systems to enhance food cultivation in this unpredictable environment. Scepticism concerning the timing and effectiveness of this system, however, remains common. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments and LiDAR imaging, the authors located Bonito Phase canal features at the far west end of the can…
Medicinal and other economic plants of the Paya of Honduras
Trachypogon plumosus (Poaceae, Andropogoneae): Ancient thatch and more from the ceren site, El Salvador
Ethnobotany of the Jicaque of Honduras
Formative-Period Subsistence and Forest-Product Extraction at the Yarumela Site, Honduras
Analysis of paleoethnobotanical remains from the Yaramela site in central Honduras has provided insights into subsistence activities, resource-extraction preferences from surrounding ecological zones, and the transfer of plant materials through interregional exchange networks during the Formative and Late Classic periods. Remains of maize (Zea mays) and squash (Cucurbitasp.) were found as well as the wood of a number of tree species, for example,…
Catastrophic volcanism and its implication for agriculture in the Maya Lowlands
A New Radiocarbon Sequence from Lamanai, Belize: Two Bayesian Models from One of Mesoamerica’s Most Enduring Sites
The ancient Maya community of Lamanai, Belize, is well known for its span of occupation from the Early Preclassic (before 1630 BC) to the present. Although most centers in the central and southern Maya Lowlands were abandoned during the Terminal Classic period (AD 750–1000), ceramic and stratigraphic evidence at Lamanai has shown continuous occupation from the start of the Early Preclassic to the Spanish Conquest. In this paper, we present the fi…
Tropical Landscapes and the Ancient Maya: Diversity in Time and Space
Archaeologists have begun to understand that many of the challenges facing our technologically sophisticated, resource dependent, urban systems were also destabilizing factors in ancient complex societies. The focus of IHOPE-Maya is to identify how humans living in the tropical Maya Lowlands in present-day Central America responded to and impacted their environments over the past three millennia, and to relate knowledge of those processes to mode…
New evidence for jute (Corchorus capsularis L.) in the Indus civilization
Growth and decline of a sustainable city: A multitemporal perspective on blue-black-green infrastructures at the pre-Columbian Lowland Maya city of Tikal
The New Urban Agenda’s call for long-term visions in urban planning fails to recognise that ‘long-term’ implies different longevities depending on context of assessment. Compared to other social sciences, archaeological approaches add rigour to envisioning urban sustainability over several centuries and millennia. The archaeology of the pre-Columbian Lowland Maya urban tradition is an interesting case because data have been used to support confli…
Stable carbon isotope values (δ13C) of purslane (Portulaca oleracea) and their archaeological significance
Phaseolus from Cerén—A Late Classic Maya Site
Water and Landscape: Ancient Maya Settlement Decisions
In this chapter we present the major transitions in Maya history from the Late Preclassic through Terminal Classic periods in the Maya Lowlands, focusing first on major settlement and subsistence systems, followed by major social and environmental costs. We particularly focus on how the Maya built and relied on increasingly complex water and agricultural systems to adapt in the humid tropics where everything in life was rainfall dependent. The se…
Micro-flotation removal of coal contaminants from archaeological radiocarbon samples from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA
Ethnobotany of the Jicaque of Honduras
C. Earle Smith, Jr. 1922–1987
Maya Diets of the Rich and Poor: Paleoethnobotanical Evidence from Copan
Analysis of plant remains recovered from excavations at Copán in western Honduras has provided substantive data regarding agroeconomic systems of the prehistoric inhabitants. The time span of the deposits ranges from the Gordon/Uir phase (900-400 B. C.), which may have been non-Maya, to the Coner phase (A. D. 700-900+), which encompasses the collapse of the Classic Maya cultural manifestation in the valley. Several traditionally recognized mesoam…
Medicinal and other economic plants of the Paya of Honduras
Trachypogon plumosus (Poaceae, Andropogoneae): Ancient thatch and more from the ceren site, El Salvador
Foodstuffs, Forests, Fields, and Shelter: A Paleoethnobotanical Analysis of Vessel Contents from the Ceren Site, El Salvador
Botanical remains found in ceramic vessels and other containers at the Cerén site, El Salvador, provide evidence for how plants were used by Classic-period inhabitants. Because of the rapid inundation of ash caused by the eruption of the Loma Caldera volcano sometime around A. D. 590, conditions for the preservation of plant parts at Cerén are superior to most other Mesoamerican sites. Carbonized plant remains, or impressions thereof, recovered f…
Early Agriculture in the Maya Lowlands
Wetland research in northern Belize provides the earliest evidence for development of agriculture in the Maya Lowlands. Pollen data confirm the introduction of maize and manioc before 3000 B.C. Dramatic deforestation, beginning ca. 2500 B.C. and intensifying in wetland environments ca. 1500-1300 B.C., marks an expansion of agriculture, which occurred in the context of a mixed foraging economy. By 1000 B.C. a rise in groundwater levels led farmers…
Formative-Period Subsistence and Forest-Product Extraction at the Yarumela Site, Honduras
Analysis of paleoethnobotanical remains from the Yaramela site in central Honduras has provided insights into subsistence activities, resource-extraction preferences from surrounding ecological zones, and the transfer of plant materials through interregional exchange networks during the Formative and Late Classic periods. Remains of maize (Zea mays) and squash (Cucurbitasp.) were found as well as the wood of a number of tree species, for example,…
Antimicrobial properties of Honduran medicinal plants
Origin and Environmental Setting of Ancient Agriculture in the Lowlands of Mesoamerica
Archaeological research in the Gulf Coast of Tabasco reveals the earliest record of maize cultivation in Mexico. The first farmers settled along beach ridges and lagoons of the Grijalva River delta. Pollen from cultivated Zea appears with evidence of forest clearing about 5100 calendar years B.C. (yr B.C.) [6200 14 C years before the present (yr B.P.)]. Large Zea sp. pollen, typical of domesticated maize ( Zea mays ), appears about 5000 calendar …
Prehistoric sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.) domestication in Mexico
Poisonous Plants and Their Uses as Insecticides in Cajamarca, Peru
Wood of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Pine ( Pinus spp.) by the Ancient Lowland Maya
The recovery of pine (Pinus spp.) charcoal remains from ceremonial contexts at sites in the Maya Lowlands suggests that pine had a significant role in ancient Maya ritual activities. Data collected by the authors reveal that pine remains are a regular component of archaeobotanical assemblages from caves, sites that were used almost exclusively for ritual purposes, and that pine is often the dominant taxon of wood charcoal recovered. Comparisons w…
Pine, prestige and politics of the Late Classic Maya at Xunantunich, Belize
Comparing the source of a commodity with the social levels of the people amongst whom it is found can reveal important aspects of social structure. This case study of a Maya community, using archaeological and ethnographic data, shows that pine and pine charcoal was procured at a distance and distributed unevenly in settlements. The researchers deduce that this commodity was not freely available in the market place, but was subject to political c…
Tikal timbers and temples: Ancient Maya agroforestry and the end of time
Morphometric Analysis of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Achenes from Mexico and Eastern North America1
Use Ofaguadasas Water Management Sources in Two Southern Maya Lowland Sites
Aguadas, either natural or human-made ponds, were significant sources of water for the ancient Maya.Aguadasare common features in the Maya Lowlands and make valuable locations for collecting archaeological and paleoenvironmental data. This article discusses research conducted at fouraguadasaround two adjacent Maya sites, San Bartolo and Xultun in Peten, Guatemala. Both San Bartolo and Xultun were established during the Preclassic period. However,…
New evidence for jute (Corchorus capsularis L.) in the Indus civilization
Ancient Manioc Agriculture South of the Ceren Village, El Salvador
The role of seed crops in the Maya diet is well understood. The role of root crops in the ancient Maya diet has been controversial, with some scholars suggesting they were staples, and others arguing they were not cultivated at all. Research in the 1990s found occasional manioc plants in kitchen gardens within the Classic period Cerén village, leading to the interpretation that manioc did contribute to the diet, but was not a staple. Recent resea…
A Tale of Two Collapses: Environmental Variability and Cultural Disruption in the Maya Lowlands
An expanding array of data is becoming available on past climate changes affecting the Maya Lowlands region. We examine the strengths and weaknesses of these data sets, both in terms of identifying general trends and specific events. We then use these data to develop a model based on adaptive cycles that addresses both environmental and cultural changes that occurred in the Terminal Preclassic and the Terminal Classic periods in several areas of …
Tropical Landscapes and the Ancient Maya: Diversity in Time and Space
Archaeologists have begun to understand that many of the challenges facing our technologically sophisticated, resource dependent, urban systems were also destabilizing factors in ancient complex societies. The focus of IHOPE-Maya is to identify how humans living in the tropical Maya Lowlands in present-day Central America responded to and impacted their environments over the past three millennia, and to relate knowledge of those processes to mode…
Water and Landscape: Ancient Maya Settlement Decisions
In this chapter we present the major transitions in Maya history from the Late Preclassic through Terminal Classic periods in the Maya Lowlands, focusing first on major settlement and subsistence systems, followed by major social and environmental costs. We particularly focus on how the Maya built and relied on increasingly complex water and agricultural systems to adapt in the humid tropics where everything in life was rainfall dependent. The se…
Tikal: Paleoecology of an Ancient Maya City
Tikal Land, Water, and Forest: An Introduction
Phaseolus from Cerén—A Late Classic Maya Site
Geography (32 works) · Archaeology (28 works) · Biology (24 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (22 works) · Maya (21 works) · Ecology (18 works) · Botany (11 works) · Agriculture (10 works) · Ecology (10 works) · Agroforestry (9 works)