Identification and dating of indigenous water storage reservoirs along the Rio San José at Laguna Pueblo, western New Mexico, USA

Huckleberry, Gary; Ferguson, T. J.; Rittenour, Tammy M.; Banet, Christopher; Mahan, Shannon A.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.11.004

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 28 publications

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“…Whether for drinking or for sustaining critical plant and animal resources, monitoring and managing available water resources is especially fundamental to the survival and longevity of complex societies (Scarborough 2003, 2015). For archaeologists studying prehistoric cultures, water can be a particularly tricky resource to calculate (e.g., Aiuvalasit 2017; Benson et al 2014; Huckleberry et al 2016; Murrell and Shelley 2009; Neely et al 2015; Wright 2006). Precipitation rates have changed substantially over the centuries and present physical land cover does not necessarily reflect past surface conditions, making it challenging to quantify water availability.…”

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confidence: 99%

Combining Survey, Soil Coring, and GIS Methods to Improve Reservoir Capacity Estimates in the Maya Lowlands

Ricker

Austin

2022

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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This study reports water capacity estimates for four reservoirs within the Classic Maya city of El Perú-Waka’, Guatemala. Combining field survey, soil analysis, and a variety of GIS interpolation methods, it illustrates ways to more fully quantify a challenging resource—water—and its availability using an interdisciplinary approach. This is accomplished by comparing surface interpolation methods for estimating reservoir capacities to demonstrate that most provide reliable estimates. Reported estimates are further enhanced by analyzing internal reservoir soil morphology to better understand and quantify formation processes and refine estimates from field survey. These analyses document a multiscalar organization to water management within the Waka’ urban core that likely ran the gamut from individuals up to civic and state institutions. Although intricacies remain to be fully elucidated, this example offers an alternate path to theorizing about water management practices from traditional binary approaches.

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