Environmental and cultural changes in highland Guatemala inferred from Lake Amatitlán sediments

Abstract

We inferred the late Holocene environmental history of the Guatemala highlands from multiple lines of evidence in a sediment core from Lake Amatitlán. Inferred environmental changes are generally synchronous with archaeologically documented highland Maya cultural shifts. Population increases in the Middle Preclassic, Early Classic, and Late Postclassic are associated with deforestation and soil erosion. Land abandonment in the Late Preclassic, Late Classic, and Early Postclassic is associated with evidence for reforestation and soil stabilization. Diatoms indicate relatively lower lake level and greater trophic status at times of reduced human impact, from ca. 250 B.C. to A.D. 125 and from ca. A.D. 875 to 1375. Decreased water levels were probably due to drier climate, to reforestation, or both. Lake eutrophication was caused by reduced water volume combined with a legacy of long-term agricultural activity. Our data contribute to the understanding of relations among ancient Maya culture, climate, and environment.

Paleoenvironment and Human Occupation in the Maya Lowlands of the Usumacinta River, Southern Mexico

“…Lounejeva et al () demonstrate that CAM plants in the Teotihuacan valley have signatures around −14‰. This increase in aridity compares well with research conducted at Lake Amatitlan, Guatemala by Velez et al (), who interpret low lake levels between 250 B.C. and A.D. 125 as evidence of dryer climates.…”

“…This paleopedological study conducted in the Maya Lowlands investigated alluvial paleosols buried and preserved in terraces of the Usumacinta River. The paleosol sequences record environmental changes along the Mexican border of the Usumacinta River valley that appear to agree chronologically and environmentally with records in the neighboring areas of Guatemala and Belize (Beach, ; Fernández et al, ; Mueller et al, ; Velez et al, ).…”

“…Three levels of Holocene terraces (Figure 2) are recognized and labeled from oldest to youngest HT2 (at 15-10 m), HT1 (at 10-5 m), and HT0 (at <5 m). Most paleoenvironmental archives used for tracing the environmental history of the Northwest Maya Lowlands are based on lacustrine sediments that originate in neighboring regions such as Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala Mueller et al, 2009); Lake Amatitlán, highlands of Guatemala (Velez et al, 2011); Lake Chinchancanab, Yucatán (Hodell, Brenner, & Curtis, 2005); Lake Punta Laguna, Quintana Roo (Hodell, Brenner, & Curtis, 2007); Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz (Lozano- García et al, 2007). Other archives include speleothems (Webster et al, 2007) and paleosols, which are mainly concentrated in Belize (Beach et al, 2008(Beach et al, , 2009(Beach et al, , 2011 and Yucatán (Sedov et al, 2007;Fedick et al, 2008;Cabadas et al, 2010).…”

Methods and future directions for paleoclimatology in the Maya Lowlands

“…Pollen diagrams from lakes in Petén, Guatemala (Deevey Jr, 1977;Islebe et al, 1996;Leyden, 1987;Tsukada, 1966;Tsukada and Deevey, 1967;Vaughan et al, 1985;Wahl et al, 2006), the Guatemalan Highlands (Newhall et al, 1987;Velez et al, 2011),…”

Phytoliths, stable carbon isotopes and micromorphology of a buried alluvial soil in Southern Mexico: A polychronous record of environmental change during Middle Holocene

“…However, recent investigations have linked human impact to the changes in the environmental conditions of that region, including the effects of farming in soil degradation, erosion, and modifications in the sedimentation rate. The majority of these studies have been done in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras (Beach et al, 2006(Beach et al, , 2009Webster et al, 2007;Velez et al, 2011). Natural or human induced changes inside an ecosystem can produce a great impact in the vegetation.…”