NSF/SBE-RCUK Maya Archaeology and Palaeoecology Partnership Project

The ancient Maya are one of the most studied past civilisations. They are renown for their elaborate architecture, hieroglyphic inscriptions, celestial calendar, and divine rulership with associated ritual. They are also known, however, for their sudden 'disappearance' around 1000 years ago. The 'collapse' of the Classic civilisation is argued to have been caused by increasing drought and environmental negligence and an inability to adapt to these climate pressures. This is an over-simplistic narrative, because the Maya never disappeared, but they dispersed after the dramatic decline of the hierarchical Classic society. The Maya currently reside in parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras where over 20 different Maya languages are spoken. Nor did the collapse of the Classic society occur in all Maya centres, nor at the same time. The charismatic and photogenic Maya ceremonial centre of Tulum on Mexico's tourist coast was still occupied at the time of Spanish arrival in the 16th century.

The 'Maya Archaeology and Palaeoecology Partnership Project' (MAPPP) examines in detail this complex relationship between ancient Maya society and climate change, taking into account how people managed their resources and farmed their land. MAPPP focuses on the Belize River Valley, a Maya region that experienced decline after the Classic period, but some occupation of ceremonial centres continued following the collapse. MAPPP will move beyond the simple narrative of 'drought caused collapse' to determine what adaption strategies were adopted by the ancient Maya as they faced climate instability. Here, we ask: How did the ancient Maya change their land use strategies in the event of extreme drought? How did they continue occupation into the post-Classic period (following collapse)? Did they change how they farmed and lived? These questions will be answered by examining the numbers and timings of burials to gauge how populations changed through time. MAPPP will examine artefacts and monumental construction to understand how people decided to use their resources with respect to trade and building and how these changed with climate pressures. The environments of the Ancient Maya will be recreated using geochemical and microfossil (pollen, charcoal and algal remains) signatures in lake sediments that archive the nature of the surrounding environments at the time they were deposited. By combining all of these different lines of evidence, we will build up a picture of how the Classic society interacted with their physical world and how this changed in response to extreme climate events. MAPPP will provide understanding on the resilience and sustainability of different land use systems in the event of climate change, which are current environmental concerns as Belize is under increasing pressures from tourism, development, and agro-business.