The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Earth’s population has hit 8 billion people at the same time that our climate is changing. How will governments ensure adequate supplies of clean water while some regions are becoming drier and others are experiencing increased flooding? In this session, we present insights into the past, present, and future of water supplies using archaeological case studies across space and time. Supplying water to populations is often wrapped in local politics, requiring decisions as to who gets water and how much can be taken. Oftentimes the water source is far from the consumption point, requiring control of vast territories to ensure adequate supplies. The storage of water can be essential to a population’s resiliency, but capturing water for future use requires engineering as well as conservation measures. Excessive consumption of water is often a symbol of power and prestige, but it may signal that others are going thirsty. Such lessons can be part of water heritages that teach current and future generations about the dangers of overconsumption.

Other Keywords
Water Management and Irrigation • Historic • Urbanism • Ethnohistory/History • Climate • Survey • Landscape Archaeology • Ancestral Pueblo • Maya: Classic • Environment and Climate 

Geographic Keywords
North America (Continent) • United Mexican States (Country) • Peten (State / Territory) • Yucatan (State / Territory) • Belize (Country) • Orange Walk (State / Territory) • Cayo (State / Territory) • Corozal (State / Territory) • Belize (State / Territory) • Stann Creek (State / Territory)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)

  • Documents (6)
Documents
  • Adaptive Water Management in the American West: Utah Case Studies in Technological Innovations and Community Cooperation (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Molly Cannon. Anna Cohen.

    This is an abstract from the "The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The western United States has experienced dramatic population growth for the past century and a half and fluctuating water resources even longer. For example, there is increasing evidence that people began diverting water from Utah’s streams and rivers during the Fremont period (ca. AD 1–1300). As early as 2,000 years ago, the Ancestral...

  • Artificial Pools at Middle Preclassic period Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Timothy Pugh. Evelyn Chan Nieto. Jemima Georges. Gabriela Zygadlo.

    This is an abstract from the "The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recent work at Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala has revealed several artificial ponds. Many of the pools occurred naturally but were enhanced through the construction of floors and walls and the manipulation of groundwater flow. Some of the pools contained large ritual deposits, including ceramic sherds, animal bones, greenstone objects,...

  • Hydro-Social Transformations and Economic Realities at Aventura, Belize (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kacey Grauer.

    This is an abstract from the "The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper presents legacies of water supplies at the Maya site of Aventura, in northern Belize. During its ancient occupation, Aventura was a city with ample water resources integrated into its settlement. Access to this water was not restricted by economic status as local political ecology was organized heterarchically. In 1848, refugees...

  • Pompeii’s Pitfalls: The Vulnerability of Water Supply in the Wake of Natural Disasters (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jessica Totsch.

    This is an abstract from the "The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Roman water-supply system of Pompeii, Italy, has provided numerous insights into resource management and urbanization in the ancient Mediterranean world. It also provides a unique parallel for understanding the impacts of climate change and natural disasters on urban infrastructure today and in the past. Prior to the eruption of Mount...

  • The Sociopolitical Impacts of Agricultural Intensification and Water Management in Classic Maya Society (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Nicolaus Seefeld.

    This is an abstract from the "The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A central issue for our understanding of Classic Maya society is how it managed to flourish despite scarce water resources, and limited access to agriculturally productive soils. More recent investigations confirmed that the adaptation strategies, which the pre-Hispanic Maya developed to overcome these obstructions, were less defined by...

  • Taking Their Water for New York City: Archaeology of Reservoir Communities (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only April Beisaw.

    This is an abstract from the "The Past, Present, and Future of Water Supplies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. It took New York City more than 100 years to construct its system of 19 reservoirs and controlled lakes. Archaeological survey of city-owned lands around these artificial water bodies reveal the ruins of what once was. Collaborations with community members and partnerships with local libraries, historical societies, and community...