The Geoarcheology of Vista Alegre

Summary

The maritime Maya site of Vista Alegre, located in the northeastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula is being investigated with the aim to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the daily life of the past inhabitants, and their interaction with their surrounding environment. Results from a sediment core campaign resolved the character, environmental associations, and ages of underlying sediments. To achieve a continues lateral understanding of the underlying sediments, a seismic survey was conducted. The survey area covered the immediate flooded area of Vista Alegre, focusing on zones that have morphologically changed throughout time, flooded during sea level rise, and which showed promise as likely locations for use during maritime activity by the past inhabitants. The seismic survey results provided evidence for sea-level rise, and revealed a ridge-basin structure that was congruous with natural trends observed terrestrially. This uniqueness could be attributed to significant differences in the submerged landscape, and possibly the presence of anthropologically-altered offshore features. The seismic interpreted data is useful both for a site scale spatial understanding of the flooded landscape history, as for aiming for potential location of marine archaeological excavations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21986