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Conference Papers by Thomas Schreiner

XX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2006, 2007

THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLAS... more THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLASSIC AND CLASSIC PERIODS Multidisciplinary studies over nearly three decades in the Mirador Basin have revealed data on its settlement, interaction and trade, politics, economy, and ecology, which help to understand some of the cultural and natural processes in this complex zone during the Preclassic and Classic periods. A synthesis of archaeological, geological, epigraphic, botanical, biological, ceramic, and topographic studies in the area demonstrates the cultural splendor associated with the origins, development, and cultural process of the first Maya state and cultural and environmental consequences of its precocious flowering in the Preclassic. The result of this development and abandonment in the zone had a strong impact on much of the Maya world. Preservation measures have been implemented at the cultural and natural level, and the intense collaboration arising between local communities and national and international institutions gives new optimism for the preservation integral to the cultural and natural system of the zone.

XX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2006 , 2007

THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLAS... more THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLASSIC AND CLASSIC PERIODS Multidisciplinary studies over nearly three decades in the Mirador Basin have revealed data on its settlement, interaction and trade, politics, economy, and ecology, which help to understand some of the cultural and natural processes in this complex zone during the Preclassic and Classic periods. A synthesis of archaeological, geological, epigraphic, botanical, biological, ceramic, and topographic studies in the area demonstrates the cultural splendor associated with the origins, development, and cultural process of the first Maya state and cultural and environmental consequences of its precocious flowering in the Preclassic. The result of this development and abandonment in the zone had a strong impact on much of the Maya world. Preservation measures have been implemented at the cultural and natural level, and the intense collaboration arising between local communities and national and international institutions gives new optimism for the preservation integral to the cultural and natural system of the zone.

XIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2005 , 2006

The archaeological studies in the Mirador Basin have focused on understanding the origin, develop... more The archaeological studies in the Mirador Basin have focused on understanding the origin, development and collapse of the Preclassic Maya civilization, together with the conservation and preservation of the archaeological sites and their natural surroundings. This presentation will introduce the studies of the 2004 season that increased our knowledge of these natural and cultural processes. The mapping of the site’s central section continued using a total station. This offered a site perspective never seen before. Also, part of the archaeological work consisted of testing sites in the West Group in which there is data showing some evidence for the site’s collapse happening at the end of the Late Classic period. Furthermore, excavation pits at the main steps of Structure 34 show the singular importance of this building in the past and indicates the importance of implementing new means of conserving and consolidating Preclassic buildings.
Excavations carried out at La Muerta, El Mirador, include final work on Structures A1 and A2 where important information was obtained relating to the building’s architecture. Structure A2 was confirmed as being Early Classic with a network of passages allowing access to the inner funerary rooms for subsequent generations. Furthermore, the existence of a third level to the building was proved, smaller in dimension but with the same system of passages. Structure A1, beside A2, revealed important information about its function such as the existence of heads modeled in stucco in the upper room of the building. The presence of these heads suggests a representation of faces of Preclassic ancestors, implying a ritual function relating the location of these two structures in La Muerta.
The 2004 field season also produced final results in the consolidation and restoration accomplished in El Mirador, rescuing Preclassic and Classic buildings that were in imminent danger of collapse. The final process of architectural consolidation work at El Mirador implemented a vanguard methodology for the conservation of the buildings as well
937
as the stucco artwork which allows at the same time the showing of Preclassic Maya architecture for educational and tourism purposes. This methodology proposes unique measures to date, using the same Prehispanic techniques and material, following a rigorous program of execution and monitoring. The preliminary results have shown very satisfactory evidence.

XXVI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala 2012, Jul 2013

The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regional and intra-site causeways... more The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regional and intra-site causeways. Recent archaeological investigations and environmental studies conducted by the Mirador Basin project have brought to light new evidence that suggests practical, multi-functional aspects of the system such as its social importance and ceremonial functions. This paper considers how the ancient inhabitants of El Mirador, the principal city of the Basin, utilized the inter-site and intra-site causeways for commerce, communication, transport, military movements, and regional political control. The function of hydraulic control consisted in the ability to impound and regulate rainwater on a regional level across seasonal wetlands known locally as bajos, as well as the probable diversion and control of water for agricultural uses. Infrastructure projects and construction on a grand scale, which included inter-site and intra-site causeways, served to regulate and restrict access of citizens and elites within their new built-environment. Monuments, altar-stela complexes, and decorative art associated with the causeways suggests their past use for public rituals as well as private events of commemorative nature related to the history of creation known as the Popol Vuh.

Papers by Thomas Schreiner

The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2015

Ancient Mesoamerica, Dec 5, 2022

LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of north... more LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of northern Guatemala has identified a concentration of Preclassic Maya sites (ca. 1000 B.C.-A.D. 150) connected by causeways, forming a web of implied social, political, and economic interactions. This article is an introduction to one of the largest, contiguous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands. More than 775 ancient Maya settlements are identified within the MCKB, and 189 more in the surrounding karstic ridge, which we condensed into 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages of at least six preliminary tiers based on surface area, volumetrics, and architectural configurations. Many tiered sites date to the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, as determined by archaeological testing, and volumetrics of contemporaneously constructed and/or occupied architecture with similar morphological characteristics. Monumental architecture, consistent architectural formats, specific site boundaries, water management/ collection facilities, and 177 km of elevated Preclassic causeways suggest labor investments that defy organizational capabilities of lesser polities and potentially portray the strategies of governance in the Preclassic period. Settlement distributions, architectural continuities, chronological contemporaneity, and volumetric considerations of sites provide evidence for early centralized administrative and socioeconomic strategies within a defined geographical region.

The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2017

Global and Planetary Change, Mar 1, 2016

Abstract Analyses of an ~ 6 m sediment core from Lago Paixban in Peten, Guatemala, document the c... more Abstract Analyses of an ~ 6 m sediment core from Lago Paixban in Peten, Guatemala, document the complex evolution of a perennial wetland over the last 10,300 years. The basal sediment is comprised of alluvial/colluvial fill deposited in the early Holocene. The absence of pollen and gastropods in the basal sediments suggests intermittently dry conditions until ~ 9000 cal yr. BP (henceforth BP) when the basin began to hold water perennially. Lowland tropical forest taxa dominated the local vegetation at this time. A distinct band of carbonate dating to ~ 8200 BP suggests regionally dry conditions, possibly associated with the 8.2 ka event. Wetter conditions during the Holocene Thermal Maximum are indicated by evidence of a raised water level and an open water lake. The timing of this interval coincides with strengthening of the Central American Monsoon. An abrupt change at 5500 BP involved the development of a sawgrass marsh and onset of peat deposition. The lowest recorded water levels date to 5500–4500 BP. Pollen, isotope, geochemical, and sedimentological data indicate that the coring site was near the edge of the marsh during this period. A rise in the water table after 4500 BP persisted until around 3500 BP. Clay marl deposition from 3500 to 210 BP corresponds to the period of Maya settlement. An increase in δ 13 C, the presence of Zea pollen, and a reduction in the percentage of forest taxa pollen indicate agricultural activity at this time. In contrast to several nearby paleoenvironmental studies, proxy evidence from Lago Paixban indicates human presence through the Classic/Postclassic period transition (~ 1000 BP) and persisting until the arrival of Europeans. Cessation of human activity around 210 BP resulted in local afforestation and the re-establishment of the current sawgrass marsh at Lago Paixban.

The Holocene, Sep 1, 2007

Pollen, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility analyses provide a high-resolution palaeoenv... more Pollen, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility analyses provide a high-resolution palaeoenvironmental record from Lago Puerto Arturo, Peten, Guatemala. The presence of Zea pollen ~2650 BC provides a latest date for the arrival of maize agriculture to the region. The following 3600 years are marked by significant opening of the forest and episodic pulses of erosion. During the early Preclassic, around 1450 BC, all proxies indicate an abrupt increase in human activity, coincident with archaeological evidence of early settlement. Three discrete periods of decreased human activity are indicated by cessations of landscape disturbance. Such decreased human activity likely reflects periodic local population decline. These events coincide with times of cultural transition in the Maya lowlands and correspond to the terminal phases of the middle Preclassic, late Preclassic and late Classic periods. There is no evidence for human activity in the area following the late Classic abandonment.

Latin American Antiquity, Jun 1, 2007

... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest ... more ... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest set tlements in the Maya Lowlands. ... throughout the upper 113 cm, sieved at 125 urn to remove coarse organic material, and processed using standard procedures (Faegri and Iverson 1989 ...

University Press of Florida eBooks, Mar 27, 2018

<p>This chapter examines the archaeological evidence from the Mirador-Calakmul Basin of nor... more <p>This chapter examines the archaeological evidence from the Mirador-Calakmul Basin of northern Guatemala and southern Campeche, Mexico, concluding that by no later than 600-400 B.C., the late Middle Preclassic, a state level society developed. This is supported by the nature of the economic system, long-distance exchange, architecture, and agricultural strategy in place by that time. A mutually sustaining system may have emerged between specialists and a governing elite, creating a favorable climate for innovation and associated justification of specialist production and consumption. This had profound and lingering consequences for more than a millennium of subsequent occupation and cultural development.</p>

Quaternary Research, May 1, 2006

An ∼8400 cal yr record of vegetation change from the northern Peten, Guatemala, provides new insi... more An ∼8400 cal yr record of vegetation change from the northern Peten, Guatemala, provides new insights into the environmental history of the archaeological area known as the Mirador Basin. Pollen, loss on ignition, and magnetic susceptibility analyses indicate warm and humid conditions in the early to mid-Holocene. Evidence for a decrease in forest cover around 4600 cal yr B.P. coincides with the first appearance ofZea mayspollen, suggesting that human activity was responsible. The period between 3450 cal yr B.P. and 1000 cal yr B.P. is characterized by a further decline in forest pollen types, includes an abrupt increase in weedy taxa, and exhibits the highest magnetic susceptibility values since the early Holocene, all of which suggest further agricultural disturbance in the watershed. A brief drop in disturbance indicators around 1800 cal yr B.P. may represent the Preclassic abandonment of the area. Changing pollen frequencies around 1000 cal yr B.P. indicate a cessation of human disturbance, which represents the Late Classic collapse of the southern Maya lowlands.

The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2015

International audience"The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regio... more International audience"The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regional and intra-site causeways. Re-cent archaeological investigations and environmental studies conducted by the Mirador Basin project have brought to light new evidence that suggests practical, multi-functional aspects of the system such as its social importance and ceremonial functions. This paper considers how the ancient inhabitants of El Mirador, the principal city of the Basin, utilized the inter-site and intra-site causeways for commerce, communication, transport, military movements, and regional political control. The function of hydraulic control consisted in the ability to impound and regulate rainwater on a regional level across seasonal wetlands known locally as bajos, as well as the probable diversion and control of water for agricultural uses. Infrastructure projects and construction on a grand scale, which included inter-site and intra-site causeways, served to regulate and ...

XXVI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2012

Resumen de las Investigaciones Arqueológicas de las calzadas y sacbeob asociadas al sitio arqueol... more Resumen de las Investigaciones Arqueológicas de las calzadas y sacbeob asociadas al sitio arqueológico de El Mirador. Las investigaciones sugieren aspectos multi-funcionales y prácticos en el uso de las calzadas en el sitio. Se identificaron calzadas interiores del sitio y calzadas que conectaban el núcleo central del sitio con el área periférica, donde se cree se elaboraban o practicaban actividades de sustento. Además, se identificaron calzadas que comunicaban con otras ciudades mayas como Nakbe y Tintal.

The Mirador Basin, located in northern Petén, is one of the most remote areas of the Maya Lowland... more The Mirador Basin, located in northern Petén, is one of the most remote areas of the Maya Lowlands. Its intense dry season, the lack of year-round water sources, and its vast seasonal humidity, are the perfect obstacles against inhabiting there. However, the area was densely populated during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, and scarcely occupied in the Late Classic period. The Prehispanic Maya lived in great urban centers, built massive structures, and exploited the natural resources. The evidence of such large populations has led scholars to examine the possible role that environmental changes played in the region's cultural events. The abandonment of the area, which happened at least twice, has long been a mystery for archaeologists. One possible explanation could be climatic change (Curtis et al. 1998; Hodell et al. 1995), another, environmental change caused by man through the cutting down of trees and the erosion of the soil (Binford et al. 1987: Deevery et al. 1979...

XIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2005

Global and Planetary Change, 2016

The Canal del Dique, located on the Colombian Caribbean Coast, can be seen as an "artificial" bra... more The Canal del Dique, located on the Colombian Caribbean Coast, can be seen as an "artificial" branch of the River Magdalena. Since its inception in 1650, it has undergone a series of interventions aimed at optimising river navigation between Cartagena and the interior of the country, little consideration having been paid to institutional, economic, social and environmental impacts. This paper presents a systemic assessment of environmental impact (SAEI) methodology, based on systemic parameterisation of the environment, proposed by Vega [2011], for the strategic environmental assessment of policy, plans, programmes or large-scale projects, considering a case study of the Canal del Dique environmental rehabilitation as proposed by the Colombian government. Information arising from the framework of an inter-administrative agreement between the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the Regional Autonomous Corporation for the Rio Grande de la Magdalena (CORMAGDALENA) was used for studying the environmental restoration of and navigation in the Canal del Dique [UN-LEH, 2008]. The authors developed and summarised SAEI regarding six alternatives for hydrosedimentological management in the canal to obtain results concerning environmental impairment or improvement regarding each factor considered, and the degree of aggressiveness or betterment involved in each alternative. Alternative 4, an enhanced version of current condition (ECC) would have produced the greatest environmental benefit (i.e. limited dredging plus optimising channel-wetland interconnection) requiring the narrowing of three straight reaches along the canal and the construction of a sluice-gate system in the Strait of Paracuica (near the town of El Recreo).

XX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2006, 2007

THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLAS... more THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLASSIC AND CLASSIC PERIODS Multidisciplinary studies over nearly three decades in the Mirador Basin have revealed data on its settlement, interaction and trade, politics, economy, and ecology, which help to understand some of the cultural and natural processes in this complex zone during the Preclassic and Classic periods. A synthesis of archaeological, geological, epigraphic, botanical, biological, ceramic, and topographic studies in the area demonstrates the cultural splendor associated with the origins, development, and cultural process of the first Maya state and cultural and environmental consequences of its precocious flowering in the Preclassic. The result of this development and abandonment in the zone had a strong impact on much of the Maya world. Preservation measures have been implemented at the cultural and natural level, and the intense collaboration arising between local communities and national and international institutions gives new optimism for the preservation integral to the cultural and natural system of the zone.

XX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2006 , 2007

THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLAS... more THE MIRADOR BASIN: ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE KAN STATE IN THE PRECLASSIC AND CLASSIC PERIODS Multidisciplinary studies over nearly three decades in the Mirador Basin have revealed data on its settlement, interaction and trade, politics, economy, and ecology, which help to understand some of the cultural and natural processes in this complex zone during the Preclassic and Classic periods. A synthesis of archaeological, geological, epigraphic, botanical, biological, ceramic, and topographic studies in the area demonstrates the cultural splendor associated with the origins, development, and cultural process of the first Maya state and cultural and environmental consequences of its precocious flowering in the Preclassic. The result of this development and abandonment in the zone had a strong impact on much of the Maya world. Preservation measures have been implemented at the cultural and natural level, and the intense collaboration arising between local communities and national and international institutions gives new optimism for the preservation integral to the cultural and natural system of the zone.

XIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2005 , 2006

The archaeological studies in the Mirador Basin have focused on understanding the origin, develop... more The archaeological studies in the Mirador Basin have focused on understanding the origin, development and collapse of the Preclassic Maya civilization, together with the conservation and preservation of the archaeological sites and their natural surroundings. This presentation will introduce the studies of the 2004 season that increased our knowledge of these natural and cultural processes. The mapping of the site’s central section continued using a total station. This offered a site perspective never seen before. Also, part of the archaeological work consisted of testing sites in the West Group in which there is data showing some evidence for the site’s collapse happening at the end of the Late Classic period. Furthermore, excavation pits at the main steps of Structure 34 show the singular importance of this building in the past and indicates the importance of implementing new means of conserving and consolidating Preclassic buildings.
Excavations carried out at La Muerta, El Mirador, include final work on Structures A1 and A2 where important information was obtained relating to the building’s architecture. Structure A2 was confirmed as being Early Classic with a network of passages allowing access to the inner funerary rooms for subsequent generations. Furthermore, the existence of a third level to the building was proved, smaller in dimension but with the same system of passages. Structure A1, beside A2, revealed important information about its function such as the existence of heads modeled in stucco in the upper room of the building. The presence of these heads suggests a representation of faces of Preclassic ancestors, implying a ritual function relating the location of these two structures in La Muerta.
The 2004 field season also produced final results in the consolidation and restoration accomplished in El Mirador, rescuing Preclassic and Classic buildings that were in imminent danger of collapse. The final process of architectural consolidation work at El Mirador implemented a vanguard methodology for the conservation of the buildings as well
937
as the stucco artwork which allows at the same time the showing of Preclassic Maya architecture for educational and tourism purposes. This methodology proposes unique measures to date, using the same Prehispanic techniques and material, following a rigorous program of execution and monitoring. The preliminary results have shown very satisfactory evidence.

XXVI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala 2012, Jul 2013

The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regional and intra-site causeways... more The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regional and intra-site causeways. Recent archaeological investigations and environmental studies conducted by the Mirador Basin project have brought to light new evidence that suggests practical, multi-functional aspects of the system such as its social importance and ceremonial functions. This paper considers how the ancient inhabitants of El Mirador, the principal city of the Basin, utilized the inter-site and intra-site causeways for commerce, communication, transport, military movements, and regional political control. The function of hydraulic control consisted in the ability to impound and regulate rainwater on a regional level across seasonal wetlands known locally as bajos, as well as the probable diversion and control of water for agricultural uses. Infrastructure projects and construction on a grand scale, which included inter-site and intra-site causeways, served to regulate and restrict access of citizens and elites within their new built-environment. Monuments, altar-stela complexes, and decorative art associated with the causeways suggests their past use for public rituals as well as private events of commemorative nature related to the history of creation known as the Popol Vuh.

The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2015

Ancient Mesoamerica, Dec 5, 2022

LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of north... more LiDAR coverage of a large contiguous area within the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin (MCKB) of northern Guatemala has identified a concentration of Preclassic Maya sites (ca. 1000 B.C.-A.D. 150) connected by causeways, forming a web of implied social, political, and economic interactions. This article is an introduction to one of the largest, contiguous, regional LiDAR studies published to date in the Maya Lowlands. More than 775 ancient Maya settlements are identified within the MCKB, and 189 more in the surrounding karstic ridge, which we condensed into 417 ancient cities, towns, and villages of at least six preliminary tiers based on surface area, volumetrics, and architectural configurations. Many tiered sites date to the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, as determined by archaeological testing, and volumetrics of contemporaneously constructed and/or occupied architecture with similar morphological characteristics. Monumental architecture, consistent architectural formats, specific site boundaries, water management/ collection facilities, and 177 km of elevated Preclassic causeways suggest labor investments that defy organizational capabilities of lesser polities and potentially portray the strategies of governance in the Preclassic period. Settlement distributions, architectural continuities, chronological contemporaneity, and volumetric considerations of sites provide evidence for early centralized administrative and socioeconomic strategies within a defined geographical region.

The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2017

Global and Planetary Change, Mar 1, 2016

Abstract Analyses of an ~ 6 m sediment core from Lago Paixban in Peten, Guatemala, document the c... more Abstract Analyses of an ~ 6 m sediment core from Lago Paixban in Peten, Guatemala, document the complex evolution of a perennial wetland over the last 10,300 years. The basal sediment is comprised of alluvial/colluvial fill deposited in the early Holocene. The absence of pollen and gastropods in the basal sediments suggests intermittently dry conditions until ~ 9000 cal yr. BP (henceforth BP) when the basin began to hold water perennially. Lowland tropical forest taxa dominated the local vegetation at this time. A distinct band of carbonate dating to ~ 8200 BP suggests regionally dry conditions, possibly associated with the 8.2 ka event. Wetter conditions during the Holocene Thermal Maximum are indicated by evidence of a raised water level and an open water lake. The timing of this interval coincides with strengthening of the Central American Monsoon. An abrupt change at 5500 BP involved the development of a sawgrass marsh and onset of peat deposition. The lowest recorded water levels date to 5500–4500 BP. Pollen, isotope, geochemical, and sedimentological data indicate that the coring site was near the edge of the marsh during this period. A rise in the water table after 4500 BP persisted until around 3500 BP. Clay marl deposition from 3500 to 210 BP corresponds to the period of Maya settlement. An increase in δ 13 C, the presence of Zea pollen, and a reduction in the percentage of forest taxa pollen indicate agricultural activity at this time. In contrast to several nearby paleoenvironmental studies, proxy evidence from Lago Paixban indicates human presence through the Classic/Postclassic period transition (~ 1000 BP) and persisting until the arrival of Europeans. Cessation of human activity around 210 BP resulted in local afforestation and the re-establishment of the current sawgrass marsh at Lago Paixban.

The Holocene, Sep 1, 2007

Pollen, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility analyses provide a high-resolution palaeoenv... more Pollen, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility analyses provide a high-resolution palaeoenvironmental record from Lago Puerto Arturo, Peten, Guatemala. The presence of Zea pollen ~2650 BC provides a latest date for the arrival of maize agriculture to the region. The following 3600 years are marked by significant opening of the forest and episodic pulses of erosion. During the early Preclassic, around 1450 BC, all proxies indicate an abrupt increase in human activity, coincident with archaeological evidence of early settlement. Three discrete periods of decreased human activity are indicated by cessations of landscape disturbance. Such decreased human activity likely reflects periodic local population decline. These events coincide with times of cultural transition in the Maya lowlands and correspond to the terminal phases of the middle Preclassic, late Preclassic and late Classic periods. There is no evidence for human activity in the area following the late Classic abandonment.

Latin American Antiquity, Jun 1, 2007

... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest ... more ... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest set tlements in the Maya Lowlands. ... throughout the upper 113 cm, sieved at 125 urn to remove coarse organic material, and processed using standard procedures (Faegri and Iverson 1989 ...

University Press of Florida eBooks, Mar 27, 2018

<p>This chapter examines the archaeological evidence from the Mirador-Calakmul Basin of nor... more <p>This chapter examines the archaeological evidence from the Mirador-Calakmul Basin of northern Guatemala and southern Campeche, Mexico, concluding that by no later than 600-400 B.C., the late Middle Preclassic, a state level society developed. This is supported by the nature of the economic system, long-distance exchange, architecture, and agricultural strategy in place by that time. A mutually sustaining system may have emerged between specialists and a governing elite, creating a favorable climate for innovation and associated justification of specialist production and consumption. This had profound and lingering consequences for more than a millennium of subsequent occupation and cultural development.</p>

Quaternary Research, May 1, 2006

An ∼8400 cal yr record of vegetation change from the northern Peten, Guatemala, provides new insi... more An ∼8400 cal yr record of vegetation change from the northern Peten, Guatemala, provides new insights into the environmental history of the archaeological area known as the Mirador Basin. Pollen, loss on ignition, and magnetic susceptibility analyses indicate warm and humid conditions in the early to mid-Holocene. Evidence for a decrease in forest cover around 4600 cal yr B.P. coincides with the first appearance ofZea mayspollen, suggesting that human activity was responsible. The period between 3450 cal yr B.P. and 1000 cal yr B.P. is characterized by a further decline in forest pollen types, includes an abrupt increase in weedy taxa, and exhibits the highest magnetic susceptibility values since the early Holocene, all of which suggest further agricultural disturbance in the watershed. A brief drop in disturbance indicators around 1800 cal yr B.P. may represent the Preclassic abandonment of the area. Changing pollen frequencies around 1000 cal yr B.P. indicate a cessation of human disturbance, which represents the Late Classic collapse of the southern Maya lowlands.

The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2015

International audience"The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regio... more International audience"The Mirador Basin is notable for its extensive network of inter-regional and intra-site causeways. Re-cent archaeological investigations and environmental studies conducted by the Mirador Basin project have brought to light new evidence that suggests practical, multi-functional aspects of the system such as its social importance and ceremonial functions. This paper considers how the ancient inhabitants of El Mirador, the principal city of the Basin, utilized the inter-site and intra-site causeways for commerce, communication, transport, military movements, and regional political control. The function of hydraulic control consisted in the ability to impound and regulate rainwater on a regional level across seasonal wetlands known locally as bajos, as well as the probable diversion and control of water for agricultural uses. Infrastructure projects and construction on a grand scale, which included inter-site and intra-site causeways, served to regulate and ...

XXVI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2012

Resumen de las Investigaciones Arqueológicas de las calzadas y sacbeob asociadas al sitio arqueol... more Resumen de las Investigaciones Arqueológicas de las calzadas y sacbeob asociadas al sitio arqueológico de El Mirador. Las investigaciones sugieren aspectos multi-funcionales y prácticos en el uso de las calzadas en el sitio. Se identificaron calzadas interiores del sitio y calzadas que conectaban el núcleo central del sitio con el área periférica, donde se cree se elaboraban o practicaban actividades de sustento. Además, se identificaron calzadas que comunicaban con otras ciudades mayas como Nakbe y Tintal.

The Mirador Basin, located in northern Petén, is one of the most remote areas of the Maya Lowland... more The Mirador Basin, located in northern Petén, is one of the most remote areas of the Maya Lowlands. Its intense dry season, the lack of year-round water sources, and its vast seasonal humidity, are the perfect obstacles against inhabiting there. However, the area was densely populated during the Middle and Late Preclassic periods, and scarcely occupied in the Late Classic period. The Prehispanic Maya lived in great urban centers, built massive structures, and exploited the natural resources. The evidence of such large populations has led scholars to examine the possible role that environmental changes played in the region's cultural events. The abandonment of the area, which happened at least twice, has long been a mystery for archaeologists. One possible explanation could be climatic change (Curtis et al. 1998; Hodell et al. 1995), another, environmental change caused by man through the cutting down of trees and the erosion of the soil (Binford et al. 1987: Deevery et al. 1979...

XIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2005

Global and Planetary Change, 2016

The Canal del Dique, located on the Colombian Caribbean Coast, can be seen as an "artificial" bra... more The Canal del Dique, located on the Colombian Caribbean Coast, can be seen as an "artificial" branch of the River Magdalena. Since its inception in 1650, it has undergone a series of interventions aimed at optimising river navigation between Cartagena and the interior of the country, little consideration having been paid to institutional, economic, social and environmental impacts. This paper presents a systemic assessment of environmental impact (SAEI) methodology, based on systemic parameterisation of the environment, proposed by Vega [2011], for the strategic environmental assessment of policy, plans, programmes or large-scale projects, considering a case study of the Canal del Dique environmental rehabilitation as proposed by the Colombian government. Information arising from the framework of an inter-administrative agreement between the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the Regional Autonomous Corporation for the Rio Grande de la Magdalena (CORMAGDALENA) was used for studying the environmental restoration of and navigation in the Canal del Dique [UN-LEH, 2008]. The authors developed and summarised SAEI regarding six alternatives for hydrosedimentological management in the canal to obtain results concerning environmental impairment or improvement regarding each factor considered, and the degree of aggressiveness or betterment involved in each alternative. Alternative 4, an enhanced version of current condition (ECC) would have produced the greatest environmental benefit (i.e. limited dredging plus optimising channel-wetland interconnection) requiring the narrowing of three straight reaches along the canal and the construction of a sluice-gate system in the Strait of Paracuica (near the town of El Recreo).

XX Simposio de …, 2007

Hansen, Richard D., Edgar Suyuc Ley, Carlos Morales Aguilar, Thomas P. Schreiner, Abel Morales Ló... more Hansen, Richard D., Edgar Suyuc Ley, Carlos Morales Aguilar, Thomas P. Schreiner, Abel Morales López, Enrique Hernández y Douglas Mauricio 2007 La Cuenca Mirador: Avances de la investigación y conservación del Estado Kan en los periodos Preclásicos y Clásicos. En XX Simposio ...

The Holocene, 2007

Pollen, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility analyses provide a high-resolution palaeoenv... more Pollen, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility analyses provide a high-resolution palaeoenvironmental record from Lago Puerto Arturo, Peten, Guatemala. The presence of Zea pollen ~2650 BC provides a latest date for the arrival of maize agriculture to the region. The following 3600 years are marked by significant opening of the forest and episodic pulses of erosion. During the early Preclassic, around 1450 BC, all proxies indicate an abrupt increase in human activity, coincident with archaeological evidence of early settlement. Three discrete periods of decreased human activity are indicated by cessations of landscape disturbance. Such decreased human activity likely reflects periodic local population decline. These events coincide with times of cultural transition in the Maya lowlands and correspond to the terminal phases of the middle Preclassic, late Preclassic and late Classic periods. There is no evidence for human activity in the area following the late Classic abandonment.

Latin American Antiquity, 2007

... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest ... more ... Nakbe, 12 km southeast of El Mirador (the largest site in the region) is one of the earliest set tlements in the Maya Lowlands. ... throughout the upper 113 cm, sieved at 125 urn to remove coarse organic material, and processed using standard procedures (Faegri and Iverson 1989 ...

Quaternary Research, 2006

An ∼8400 cal yr record of vegetation change from the northern Peten, Guatemala, provides new insi... more An ∼8400 cal yr record of vegetation change from the northern Peten, Guatemala, provides new insights into the environmental history of the archaeological area known as the Mirador Basin. Pollen, loss on ignition, and magnetic susceptibility analyses indicate warm and humid conditions in the early to mid-Holocene. Evidence for a decrease in forest cover around 4600 cal yr B.P. coincides with the first appearance of Zea mays pollen, suggesting that human activity was responsible. The period between 3450 cal yr B.P. and 1000 cal yr B.P. is characterized by a further decline in forest pollen types, includes an abrupt increase in weedy taxa, and exhibits the highest magnetic susceptibility values since the early Holocene, all of which suggest further agricultural disturbance in the watershed. A brief drop in disturbance indicators around 1800 cal yr B.P. may represent the Preclassic abandonment of the area. Changing pollen frequencies around 1000 cal yr B.P. indicate a cessation of human disturbance, which represents the Late Classic collapse of the southern Maya lowlands.

El sitio Tintal ubicado unos 28 km al sur de El Mirador, sobresale por haber tenido pirámides de ... more El sitio Tintal ubicado unos 28 km al sur de El Mirador, sobresale por haber tenido pirámides de gran altura, canales, calzadas, acrópolis, reservorios y un juego de Pelota. Los resultados preliminares de las investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el 2013 mostraron una importante actividad constructiva de estos rasgos para el Preclásico Tardío (300 a.C. - 150 d.C.)