The Hydroarchaeological Method: A Case Study at the Maya Site of Palenque

Abstract

This research consists mainly of introducing the hydroarchaeological method, especially as related to issues of drought. The article outlines how this multidisciplinary method can provide insights into the success and failures of an archaeological site, in this case the Maya site of Palenque. We also detail convincing evidence that shows that the Maya of Palenque did not leave their city because of deficiencies of water, as some paleoclimatologists and archaeologists have asserted. The first logical step toward understanding any settlement’s water system is to use basic hydrologic methods and theory and to understand the local watershed. There is great potential for watershed-climate modeling in developing plausible scenarios of water use and supply and of the effect of extreme conditions (flood and drought), all of which cannot be fully represented by atmosphere-based climate and weather projections. The research demonstrates how the local watershed, land-use, and ecological conditions interact with regional climate changes. The archaeological implications for this noninvasive “virtual” method are many, including detecting periods of stress within a community, estimating population by developing caps based on the availability of water, and understanding settlement patterns, as well as assisting present local populations in understanding their water cycle.

Ancient Maya impacts on the Earth's surface: An Early Anthropocene analog?

“…In contrast, at Palenque the goal was drainage of excess water. This city had elaborate drainage systems in this wet region of Chiapas (French and Duffy, 2010;French et al, 2012).…”

Classic Period collapse of the Central Maya Lowlands: Insights about human–environment relationships for sustainability

“…However, access to water was a necessary but not sufficient condition for noncollapse. Many cities with such access collapsed, such as the humid and water infrastructure-rich city of Palenque (118). There is virtually no evidence that reduced precipitation was countered by use of irrigation, including in the northern Yucatán, which survived the Terminal Classic and remained occupied (Fig.…”

Hydrological Modeling and Prehistoric Settlement on Santa Rosa Island, California, USA

“…Each triangle is projected vertically downward from the surface to create a prism. French, Duffy, and Bhatt (2012) show that although other Maya centers may have been adversely affected by drought, even the worst hydrological conditions in the Palenque watershed are not particularly severe, and it is unlikely that drought would have been the primary reason for the eventual abandonment of the site. This model simulates stream flow for specific drainages and also generates information about the coupled hydrodynamics of the entire landscape.…”

“…Data are assigned within each prism to model the flow and complex interplay of surface water, groundwater, soil moisture, and vegetation type with parameters estimated from national and local data sets (Qu & Duffy, 2007;French, Duffy, & Bhatt, 2012;Leonard & Duffy, 2013). Each triangle is projected vertically downward from the surface to create a prism.…”

“…Water availability is a fundamental metric for sustaining habitation and it is often infeasible to transport over long distances. During multi-year atmospheric drought, other variables such as topography, geology, vegetation, and solar radiation either exacerbate or mitigate drought impact (French, Duffy, & Bhatt, 2012). This is particularly true in arid and semi-arid regions where fresh water sources are limited under the best conditions and are highly sensitive to drought.…”