Long and short-term lacustrine and fluviolacustrine dynamics in relation to prehistoric settlements: The case of Lake Texcoco

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico: The Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization, Part 1" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Despite the existence of archaeological data from surface surveys and excavations, the extent and dynamics of the lake and its shores over time are poorly known. Archaeological works often refer to a model of distribution of the Basin of Mexico’s lakes that is to a large extent fixed the time of the conquest (1519-1521) on or models that are erroneous. Geomorphological, sedimentological, archaeological, and historical data reveal that the levels of the lake were highly variable on a seasonal, decadal, and centennial basis. This paper examines some lacustrine and perilacustrine localities that reveal several problems often ignored such as low lacustrine sedimentation rates, recent advance of deltaic lobes, and a very low topographic gradient that hinders the definition of features such as paleoshores and paleobeaches.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico: The Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization, Part 1   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23321