Linear Features in the Bajo de Azucar, Guatemala: Multiple Origins and Uses

Summary

Examination of satellite imagery in 2006 revealed a number of linear features of varying lengths in a remote section of the Bajo de Azucar, a large swampy depression in northeast Guatemala. Ground exploration and excavation of several of these features in 2007 and 2008 documented a combination of natural and anthropogenic origins. We argue that the ancient Maya modified and extended natural channels within the bajo for several possible reasons: 1) to facilitate transportation across a difficult landscape; 2) to access agricultural lands; 3) to create a water reserve, and 4) to facilitate aquaculture.

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Cite this Record

Linear Features in the Bajo de Azucar, Guatemala: Multiple Origins and Uses. Robert Griffin, Nicholas Dunning, Tom Sever, William Saturno. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 396165)

Keywords

General
Bajo Maya Remote Sensing

Geographic Keywords
Central America

Spatial Coverage

min long: -94.702; min lat: 6.665 ; max long: -76.685; max lat: 18.813 ;