Hydrological Landscape Analysis of a Sinuous Depression, Yaxnohcah, Mexico
Date
2020-01-30
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Abstract
Yaxnohcah is a large site in Campeche, Mexico with evidence of continual occupation from the early Middle Preclassic into the Postclassic. In 2014, the Yaxnohcah Archaeological Project commissioned a high resolution LiDAR scan of the region, which has allowed for accurate modeling of surface hydrology and significantly contributed to our understanding of hydrological landscape modification at the site. One feature of particular interest was an irregularly shaped, deeply etched sinuous depression located in the Bajo Tomatal, just south of the narrow drainage that connects it with the Bajo Laberinto. The aim of this research was to ascertain whether this sinuous depression is a cultural or natural feature, and if cultural, what it can tell us about how the ancient lowland Maya at Yaxnohcah modified the hydrology of their natural landscape to sustain urban settlements in the dense and inhospitable rainforests of the Yucatan. In 2017 and 2018, I modeled and analysed the hydrology of the sinuous depression, and in the 2018 field season performed excavations of the feature. The excavations showed that, while the sinuous depression may originally have been a natural feature, it was extensively modified, with clear evidence for considerable refurbishment during the Postclassic and data suggesting an earlier date for initial construction. Furthermore, the modelling indicates that the sinuous depression formed part of system of hydrological features that was accretional developed throughout the Preclassic into the Early Classic as control mechanisms for redirecting, buffering, and capturing water around the Brisa complex. This system underwent considerable refurbishment during the Postclassic.
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Keywords
Maya, Canal, Water Management, Urban Agriculture, Agro-Urban Landscapes, lidar, GIS, Milley
Citation
Milley, D. S. (2020). Hydrological Landscape Analysis of a Sinuous Depression, Yaxnohcah, Mexico (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.