Hydraulic Systems and Water Ideology in the Mayan Lowlands

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Urban developments feature monumental architecture as well as diverse engineering systems that were part of daily activities and larger landscape modifications. Some of the urban constructions in ancient Maya cities included reservoirs and canals. Reservoirs were also part of ceremonial activities to maintain good relationships between humans, deities, and ancestors. This poster examines the function, chronology, and construction techniques of 3 reservoirs located in the ancient Maya city of Ucanal, Peten, Guatemala. Excavated in 2022 and 2023 by the Proyecto Arqueológico Ucanal, these reservoirs were quite different in size, functionality, and chronology. Excavation data combined with sediment analyses, Bayesian statistical analyses, and ethnographic explorations in reservoir construction in the Maya area today reveal not only a diversity of practices surrounding water infrastructure but also major landscape modifications at the beginning of the Terminal Classic period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52956