Charcoal Analysis to Reconstruct the Ancient Wood Economy of Naachtun

Summary

Researchers have long considered that the relations between ancient Maya societies and their tropical forested landscape significantly affected social and environmental development throughout the Maya Lowlands. The lingering debate contrasting the hypothesis of a massive deforestation during the Classic period with a model of careful environmental management has not been resolved, and places forest resources exploitation at the center of the rise and development of ancient Maya cities. In particular, wood is an essential resource, abundant in such environments but still exhaustible, and can therefore constitute a key economic and ecological indicator in the study of ancient societies.

The systematic and diachronic anthracological study of Naachtun aims to understand the global wood economy of the site as well as the impact of human activities on the evolution of local forested areas through time. Charcoal assemblages are interpreted in terms of firewood collection strategies, sources of supply, and sylviculture practices. Furthermore, issues related to the representativeness of the charcoal records are discussed. This theoretical framework allows greater understanding of the co-evolution between Naachtun’s society and its environment.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Reconstructing Resource Availability, Use, and Management at Naachtun (Guatemala), a Regional Maya Center of the Classic Period

Keywords

Spatial Coverage