Terminal Classic drought in the northern Maya lowlands inferred from multiple sediment cores in Lake Chichancanab (Mexico)

Hodell, David A; Brenner, Mark; Curtis, Jason H.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.10.013

Cited by 266 publications

(298 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Evidence for significantly drier periods at Tuxpan between Ϸ2,000 and 1,100 B.P. supports views that dry episodes recorded in a number of places at this time, including the one associated with the collapse of the Classic Maya civilization, reflect hemisphere-wide, perhaps global climatic perturbations (17,19), and that against a backdrop of a mostly stable Holocene climate, severe, short-term oscillations occurred that may have had considerable importance for social change.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…The drier times at Tuxpan overlap dry periods recorded elsewhere in lowland Mesoamerica between Ϸ1,800 and 900 B.P (16,17). If a hard water error of a few hundred years is assumed, the most intense drying at Tuxpan, recorded between 1.1 and 1.36 m, encompassed the ninth century A.D.…”

Section: Field Work In Supporting Information (Si) Materials and Methmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…If a hard water error of a few hundred years is assumed, the most intense drying at Tuxpan, recorded between 1.1 and 1.36 m, encompassed the ninth century A.D. In other regions of Mesoamerica, severe drying documented at this time is associated with the Classic Maya collapse (16,17).…”

Section: Field Work In Supporting Information (Si) Materials and Methmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of the Iguala Valley, Central Balsas Watershed of Mexico

Piperno

Moreno

Iriarte

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

116

108

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The origin of agriculture was a signal development in human affairs and as such has occupied the attention of scholars from the natural and social sciences for well over a century. Historical studies of climate and vegetation are closely associated with crop plant evolution because they can reveal the ecological contexts of plant domestication together with the antiquity and effects of agricultural practices on the environment. In this article, we present paleoecological evidence from three lakes and a swamp located in the Central Balsas watershed of tropical southwestern Mexico that date from 14,000 B.P. to the modern era. [Dates expressed in B.P. years are radiocarbon ages. Calibrated (calendar) ages, expressed as cal B.P., are provided for dates in the text.] Previous molecular studies suggest that maize (Zea mays L.) and other important crops such as squashes (Cucurbita spp.) were domesticated in the region. Our combined pollen, phytolith, charcoal, and sedimentary studies indicate that during the late glacial period (14,000 -10,000 B.P.), lake beds were dry, the climate was cooler and drier, and open vegetational communities were more widespread than after the Pleistocene ended. Zea was a continuous part of the vegetation since at least the terminal Pleistocene. During the Holocene, lakes became important foci of human activity, and cultural interference with a species-diverse tropical forest is indicated. Maize and squash were grown at lake edges starting between 10,000 and 5,000 B.P., most likely sometime during the first half of that period. Significant episodes of climatic drying evidenced between 1,800 B.P. and 900 B.P. appear to be coeval with those documented in the Classic Maya region and elsewhere, showing widespread instability in the late Holocene climate.agricultural origins ͉ ecological contexts ͉ microfossils ͉ paleoecology

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Field Work In Supporting Information (Si) Materials and Methmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of the Iguala Valley, Central Balsas Watershed of Mexico

Piperno

Moreno

Iriarte

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

116

108

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“…Other low-latitude Atlantic hydrologic records support the idea that late Holocene ITCZ variability was an important driver of late Holocene hydrological variability in the Caribbean and subtropical North Atlantic (e.g. Hodell et al, 2005;Lund and Curry, 2006).…”

Section: Comparison With Precipitation Recordsmentioning

confidence: 73%

The Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age in Chesapeake Bay and the North Atlantic Ocean

Cronin¹,

Hayo²,

Thunell³

et al. 2010

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…While some scholars argue for a direct causal link between aridity and the abandonment of many sites (1)(2)(3)(4), others argue that anthropogenic landscape transformations were more important in facilitating cultural change (5,6). A focal point of this debate is the dramatic cultural change that occurred during the Terminal Classic, from ∼850 CE through 1000 CE.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural implications of late Holocene climate change in the Cuenca Oriental, Mexico

Bhattacharya¹,

Byrne²,

Böhnel

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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There is currently no consensus on the importance of climate change in Mesoamerican prehistory. Some invoke drought as a causal factor in major cultural transitions, including the abandonment of many sites at 900 CE, while others conclude that cultural factors were more important. This lack of agreement reflects the fact that the history of climate change in many regions of Mesoamerica is poorly understood. We present paleolimnological evidence suggesting that climate change was important in the abandonment of Cantona between 900 CE and 1050 CE. At its peak, Cantona was one of the largest cities in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, with a population of 90,000 inhabitants. The site is located in the Cuenca Oriental, a semiarid basin east of Mexico City. We developed a subcentennial reconstruction of regional climate from a nearby maar lake, Aljojuca. The modern climatology of the region suggests that sediments record changes in summer monsoonal precipitation. Elemental geochemistry (X-ray fluorescence) and δ18O from authigenic calcite indicate a centennial-scale arid interval between 500 CE and 1150 CE, overlaid on a long-term drying trend. Comparison of this record to Cantona’s chronology suggests that both the city’s peak population and its abandonment occurred during this arid period. The human response to climate change most likely resulted from the interplay of environmental and political factors. During earlier periods of Cantona’s history, increasing aridity and political unrest may have actually increased the city’s importance. However, by 1050 CE, this extended arid period, possibly combined with regional political change, contributed to the city’s abandonment.

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Terminal Classic drought in the northern Maya lowlands inferred from multiple sediment cores in Lake Chichancanab (Mexico)

Cited by 266 publications

References 24 publications

Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of the Iguala Valley, Central Balsas Watershed of Mexico

Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of the Iguala Valley, Central Balsas Watershed of Mexico

The Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age in Chesapeake Bay and the North Atlantic Ocean

Cultural implications of late Holocene climate change in the Cuenca Oriental, Mexico

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