Identifying connections between land use, population change, and natural and
human-induced environmental change in ancient societies provides insights into the
challenges we face today. This dissertation presents data from archaeological research at
the ancient Maya center of Uxbenká, Belize, integrating chronological,
geomorphological, and settlement data within an ecological framework to develop
methodological and theoretical tools to explore connections between social and
environmental change or stability during the Preclassic and Classic Period (~1000 BC to
AD 900). High-precision AMS 14C dates from Uxbenká were integrated with stratigraphic
information within a Bayesian framework to generate a high-resolution chronology of
sociopolitical development and expansion in southern Belize. This chronology revises the
previous understanding of settlement and development of Classic Maya society at Uxbenká
and indicates specific areas of investigation to elucidate the Late and Terminal Classic
periods (AD 600-900) when the polity appears to disintegrate. A geoarchaeological record
of land use was developed and interpreted with respect to regional climatic and cultural
histories to track landscape transformations associated with human-environment interactions at Uxbenká. The first documented episode of landscape instability (i.e.,
erosion) was associated with farmers colonizing the area. Later, landscape stability in the
site core parallels Classic Period urbanization (AD 300-900) when swidden agriculture was
likely restricted in the core. Another erosional event followed political disintegration as
farmers resumed cultivation in and around the abandoned city.
Maize yields derived from contemporary Maya farms in the area were used to
estimate the maximum population size of Uxbenká during its Classic Period peak. The
maximum sustainable population is estimated between 7500 and 13,000, including a
potential population of ~525 elites in the core, assuming low levels of agricultural
intensification. This accords well with the lack of archaeological evidence for intensive
land management during the Classic Period (e.g., terraces). An ecological model developed
using maize productivity and other environmental/social datasets largely predicts the
settlement pattern surrounding Uxbenká. Settlements in marginal areas may be evidence of
elite intra-polity competition during the Late Preclassic Period (ca. AD 1-300), though it is
possible that marginal areas were settled early as garrisons to mediate travel into the site
core.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uoregon.edu/oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/12347 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Culleton, Brendan J., Culleton, Brendan J. |
| Contributors | Kennett, Douglas J. |
| Publisher | University of Oregon |
| Source Sets | University of Oregon |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Rights | All Rights Reserved. |
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