Soil Carbon Persistence and Influence in the Early Anthropocene of the Maya Lowlands

Summary

This is an abstract from the "2023 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Timothy Beach Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Coupled studies of Maya Lowlands soils and geoarchaeological exploration provide insight into neotropical soil and atmospheric carbon cycle dynamics in space and time, and soil carbon’s role in defining the Early Anthropocene. This paper tests the hypothesis that soil carbon persistence differs in time, space, and between geomorphic and archaeological settings. We use dated soil carbon isotopic results from multiple geoarchaeological investigations we have conducted in the Maya lowlands of Central America, to compare rates of soil carbon storage, flux, and persistence in this neotropical region. These results are relevant for quantifying variables to improve models of human inputs to climate change during and after the Early Anthropocene, based on landesque capital developments for agriculture such as terracing, and ditched and raised fields. We expect that rates of change and recovery will vary based on geomorphic and paleoecological settings, and on post disturbance recovery. These rates should be taken into account in modeling atmospheric CO2 inputs attributed to ancient human land disturbance, use, conservation, and abandonment, and can give insight into modeling modern and future human impacts on the atmosphere.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)   •
• 2023 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Timothy Beach Part I

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36144.0