A Classic Maya House-Lot Drainage System in Northwestern Belize

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4374280
AutoresJon C Lohse (0000-0002-7900-7664), Patrick N Findlay
Ano2000
Volume11
Fascículo2
Páginas175-185
Data de publicação2000-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/971854
OpenAlexW2333515657
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas19

Off-mound excavations at a residential group near the site of Dos Hombres, Belize have revealed a series of unusual modifications to the limestone bedrock. The primary purpose of these modifications appears to have been to facilitate drainage of excess surface and subsurface moisture during periods of heavy rain. By utilizing a variation of lithic mulching in the soil, however, the Maya also may have been able to slow the loss of moisture through evaporation during lengthy dry periods. We suggest that these finds reflect soil and water management in house-lot gardening, and that these measures were necessary to overcome localized geologic, pedologic, and regional climatologic conditions. The use of such a drainage system together with gravel fill at the household level is previously unreported in the Maya Lowlands, and represents an important line of inquiry into gardens as ancient agricultural production systems

Archaeology · Bedrock · Drainage · Drainage system (geomorphology · Excavation · Geography · Geomorphology · Geotechnical engineering · Hydrology (agriculture · Maya · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Tree-ring climate responses · Ecology · Geology