Tikal : paleoecology of an ancient Maya city / edited by David L. Lentz, University of Cincinnati, Nicholas P. Dunning, University of Cincinnati, Vernon L. Scarborough, University of Cincinnati.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Lentz, David L. (David Lewis), 1951- editor.

Dunning, Nicholas P., 1957- editor.

Scarborough, Vernon L. (Vernon Lee), 1950- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleoecology--Guatemala--Tikal Site.

Paleoecology.

Wetland agriculture--Guatemala--Tikal Site.

Wetland agriculture.

Tikal Site (Guatemala).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiv, 347 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The primary theoretical question addressed in this book focuses on the lingering concern of how the ancient Maya in the northern Petén Basin were able to sustain large populations in the midst of a tropical forest environment during the Late Classic period. This book asks how agricultural intensification was achieved and how essential resources, such as water and forest products, were managed in both upland areas and seasonal wetlands, or bajos. 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 undoubtedly contributed to the Maya collapse. The book's findings provide insights that broaden the understanding of the rise of social complexity - the expansion of the political economy, specifically - and, in general terms, the trajectory of cultural evolution of the ancient Maya civilization.

Contents:

List of figures

List of tables

Contributors

Editors

Foreword / by Payson Sheets

Acknowledgments

1. Tikal land, water, and forest : an introduction / Nicholas P. Dunning, David L. Lentz, and Vernon L. Scarborough

2. The evolution of an ancient waterworks system at Tikal / Vernon L. Scarborough and Liwy Grazioso Sierra

3. At the core of Tikal : terrestrial sediment sampling and water management / Brian Lane, Vernon L. Scarborough, and Nicholas P. Dunning

4. Bringing the University of Pennsylvania maps of Tikal into the era of electronic GIS / Christopher Carr, Eric Weaver, Nicholas P. Dunning, and Vernon L. Scarborough

5. Examining landscape modifications for water management at Tikal using three-dimensional modeling with ArcGIS / Eric Weaver, Christopher Carr, Nicholas P. Dunning, Lee Florea, and Vernon L. Scarborough

6. Life on the edge : Tikal in a bajo landscape / Nicholas P. Dunning, Robert E. Griffin, John G. Jones, Richard E. Terry, Zachary Larsen, and Christopher Carr

7. Connecting contemporary ecology and ethnobotany to ancient plant use practices of the Maya at Tikal / Kim M. Thompson, Angela Hood, Dana Cavallaro, and David L. Lentz

8. Agroforestry and agricultural practices of the ancient Maya at Tikal / David L. Lentz, Kevin Magee, Eric Weaver, John G. Jones, Kenneth B. Tankersley, Angela Hood, Gerald Islebe, Carmen E. Ramos Hernandez, and Nicholas P. Dunning

9. Fire and water : the archaeological significance of Tikal's Quaternary sediments / Kenneth B. Tankersley, Nicholas P. Dunning, Vernon L. Scarborough, John G. Jones, Christopher Carr, and David L. Lentz

10. Fractious farmers at Tikal / David Webster and Timothy Murtha

11. Material culture of Tikal / Palma J. Buttles, Carmen E. Ramos Hernandez, and Fred Valdez Jr.

12. A neighborly view : water and environmental history of the El Zotz region / Timothy Beach, Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach, Jonathan Flood, Stephen Houston, Thomas G. Garrison, Edwin Román, Steve Bozarth and James Doyle

13. Defining the constructed niche of Tikal : a summary view / David L. Lentz, Nicholas P. Dunning, and Vernon L. Scarborough.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical reference and index.

ISBN:

1-316-05618-X

1-316-08219-9

1-316-07983-X

1-316-07509-5

1-316-07746-2

1-316-07273-8

1-316-05382-2

1-139-22720-3