Copyright, Bajo Laberinto Archaeological Project and Instituto Nacional de Antropolog铆a e Historia
Oct. 25, 2022
草莓污视频导航 research collaboration reveals new urbanization and landscape modifications at ancient Maya city
Following years of research, Dr. Kathryn Reese-Taylor, PhD, professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at 草莓污视频导航, as well as her team of international colleagues, has used lidar (light detection and ranging) to help uncover more secrets of the enormous ancient Maya city of Calakmul.
As a result, researchers on the Bajo Laberinto Archaeological Project, a 草莓污视频导航-led international and multidisciplinary research project directed by Reese-Taylor, can now better understand the density and landscape modifications of Mexico鈥檚 ancient Maya Calakmul settlement.
鈥淏y using lidar imagery, we are now able to fully understand the immense size of the Calakmul urban settlement and its substantial landscape modifications, which supported an intensive agricultural system,鈥 says Reese-Taylor.
鈥淎ll available land was covered with water canals, terraces, walls and dams, no doubt to provide food and water security for Calakmul residents.鈥
Although the number of people who lived at Calakmul during the height of the Snake King鈥檚 rule was not a complete surprise because of previous mapping and archaeological investigations by the Autonomous University of Campeche and INAH, the team was astonished at the scale and degree of urban construction.
Immense apartment-style residential compounds have been identified throughout the surveyed area, some with as many as 60 individual structures, the seats of large households composed of extended families and affiliated members. These large residential units were clustered around numerous temples, shrines, and possible marketplaces, making Calakmul one of the largest cities in the Americas at 700 AD.
But that鈥檚 not all the team was able to see.
鈥淲e were also able to see that the magnitude of landscape modification equaled the scale of the urban population,鈥 explains Reese-Taylor. 鈥淎ll available land was covered with water canals, terraces, walls, and dams, no doubt to provide maximum food and water security for the city dwellers.鈥
What鈥檚 next for the team and the technology
Going forward, the lidar survey will be used by INAH to help with policy and planning for the biosphere in anticipation of the expected increased tourism in the area. Lidar will also continue to support the Bajo Laberinto Archaeological Project, which aims to investigate the causes for the rapid population increase at Calakmul and its effect on the region鈥檚 environment.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to see what else this technology will help us learn about Calakmul,鈥 says Reese-Taylor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a privilege to be unearthing the secrets of Mexico鈥檚 ancient settlements.鈥
Reese-Taylor and her colleagues on the Bajo Laberinto Archaeological Project will present their preliminary findings from the lidar survey on the , on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. MT.聽
The Calakmul Biosphere lidar survey was funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to Dr. Kathryn Reese-Taylor, professor at the 草莓污视频导航 and director of the Bajo Laberinto Archaeological Project, and Lic. Adriana Velazquez Morlet, director, INAH, Campeche.