A Flow of Ideas: Water Management from an Aguada and into Wetlands

Summary

The approach taken by Vernon Scarborough to the study of water management in the Maya area has been a thorough investigation of the role of water in the formation of both the relationships of people with their environment, and also the impact of water in the organization of people among themselves. While I was a student of Vern Scarborough's from 2003 through 2005, he emphasized three key points in my thinking. The first is an openness to seek is a cross cultural analogy. Secondly, he stressed the depth of knowledge that people had of their environmental systems and how this knowledge may have been incorporated variously into economic, political, religious, and other organizational schemes. Finally, while adhering to the scientific method, Scarborough stressed the need for multi-disciplinary collaboration and a resulting interpretation that is both holistic and humanistic. The following presentation will draw from Scarborough's extensive body of work in the Maya area to demonstrate his impact not only on my work - while as a student of his working on an aguada in Belize and also subsequently while investigating ancient Maya use of wetlands in Quintana Roo, Mexico - but also comment on the legacy he has created.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Contributions of Vernon Scarborough in Water Management and Sustainability, Part 2: The Classic Maya

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Spatial Coverage