Economic plant species associated with prehistoric agriculture in the Maya lowlands

The issue of plant species used by the ancient Maya of the Yucatan region previous to A.D. 900–1,000 has involved a number of types of arguments, 5 of which are identified: ecological speculation, ethnobotany, plant relicts, linguistics/ iconography, and plant remains/fossils. Recent emphasis on uncovering and analyzing plant remains from Maya occupational and agricultural relics demonstrates that direct evidence from archaeological contexts can be obtained. This evidence, including fossil pollen, seeds, and stem and wood fragments, is used to evaluate various issues involving those species proposed to have been used by the Maya. The results support views dealing with the dominance of maize as a staple and the use of squash, agave, cotton, and tree species. Propositions concerning significance of ramón, cacao, root crops, and amaranth are not yet supported by direct evidence.     

Assessing the impact of ancient Maya animal use

Tropical forest animals are at high risk worldwide as a result of over-exploitation and forest clearing. Zooarchaeological studies of animal use by the ancient Maya of the southern lowland regions of Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico provide long-term historical information on animal populations under conditions of human population growth and climatic change that is valuable to both archaeology and conservation biology. In this paper, zooarchaeological data from 35 chronologically defined faunal sub-samples recovered from 25 ancient Maya archaeological sites are used to assess the effects of ancient hunting on animal populations of the Maya region between the Preclassic and Colonial periods (2000 BC–AD 1697). The variations in species abundance are used as a proxy for describing changes in ancient Maya hunting practices and hunted animal populations, interpreted on the basis of hunting efficiency models from foraging ecology. A significant reduction in the proportion of large mammals, particularly Odocoileus virginianus, in zooarchaeological assemblages between the Late Classic (AD 600–850) and Terminal Classic/Postclassic periods (AD 850–1519) suggest that over-hunting during the Late Classic may have led to a reduction in availability of these animals to the ancient Maya hunters in the later periods. This finding is discussed in relation to important social and environmental variations to evaluate the impact of hunting and other factors such as forest clearance and climate on ancient animal populations in the Maya region.     

Organic/inorganic complex pigments: ancient colors Maya Blue

Maya Blue is an ancient blue pigment composed of palygorskite clay and indigo. It was used by the ancient Maya and provides a dramatic background for some of the most impressive murals throughout Mesoamerica. Despite exposure to acids, alkalis, and chemical solvents, the color of the Maya Blue pigment remains unaltered. The chemical interaction between palygorskite and indigo form an organic/inorganic complex with the carbonyl oxygen of the indigo bound to a surface Al(3+) in the Si-O lattice. In addition indigo will undergo an oxidation to dehydroindigo during preparation. The dehydro-indigo molecule forms a similar but stronger complex with the Al(3+). Thus, Maya Blue varies in color due to the mixed indigo/dehydroindigo complex. The above conclusions are the result of application of multiple techniques (X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis/thermal gravimetric analysis, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, infrared and Raman spectroscopy) to the characterization of the organic/inorganic complex. A picture of the bonding of the organic molecule to the palygorskite surface forming a surface complex is developed and supported by the results of density functional theory calculations. We also report that other organic molecules such as thioindigo form similar organic/inorganic complexes thus, opening an entirely new class of complex materials for future applications.     

Maya medicine in the biological gaze: bioprospecting research as herbal fetishism

The relationship of human societies to territory and natural resources is being drastically altered by a series of global agreements concerning trade, intellectual property, and the conservation and use of genetic resources. Through a characteristic style of collective appropriation of their tropical ecosystems, Maya societies have created local institutions for governing access to their common resources. However, new mechanisms of global governance require access to Maya biodiversity for world commercial interests. The Chiapas Highland Maya already face this prospect in the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group drug discovery project, which proposes to use Maya medical knowledge to screen plants for potential pharmaceuticals. The ethnobiological focus of the project emphasizes the naturalistic aspects of Maya medicine, primarily the use of herbal remedies. This biological gaze decontextualizes the situated knowledge of Maya healers, ignoring the cultural context in which they create and apply that knowledge. The search for raw materials for the production of universal medical technology results in symbolic violence to the cultural logic of Maya peoples. Only the full recognition of Maya peoples' collective rights to territory and respect for their local common-resource institutions will provide ultimate protection for their cultural and natural patrimony.     

The ground beetle fauna of ancient and recent woodlands in the lowlands of north-west Germany (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

In north-west Germany the ground beetle fauna was investigated using pitfall traps at 79 sampling sites in ancient woodlands and recent woodlands (with and without direct contact to old stands). Two woodland types were considered: The Quercion robori-petraea-woodlands (oak-beech-type) on mainly sandy soils and the Stellario-Carpinetum-woodlands (hornbeam-type) on mainly loamy soils. The number of recorded ground beetle species inhabiting exclusively or predominantly woodlands in the investigation area is significantly higher in ancient stands of both woodland types than in recent ones. No statistically substantiated relation between habitat size (both about 1800 and in 1990) and the number of characteristic woodland ground beetle species could be ascertained. Carabus glabratus and Abax parallelus show a distinct focus in ancient woodlands. Significantly more records of Carabus violaceus and Abax parallelepipedus are known from ancient woodlands than from recent ones. Twelve of the 16 ground beetle species, for which no difference in the colonisation of ancient and recent woodlands was ascertained, are macropterous. Half of the eight brachypterous woodland species is exclusively or predominantly found in ancient woodlands, suggesting that power of dispersal is an important factor which determines the species number in woodland fragments of different age.     

Vegetation-soil relations in the lowlands of south-west Tasmania

A geographic survey of 14 south-west Tasmanian sedgeland-heaths revealed that soil organic matter is related to: water content: total nitrogen (N): total and exchangeable sodium (Na), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg); exchangeable potassium (K) cation exchange capacity; and total exchangeable bases. However, total and available phosphorus (P), total K and Iron (Fe). pH level and percentage base saturation were found to be Independent of organic content. Most of the soil nutrient capital is contained In the A₀ horizon, the depth of which was found to be positively related to the time elapsed since the last fire. There is no clear relationship between rock type and soil fertility, but there is evidence of soil-vegetation interaction. The sedgeland-heath species have lower concentrations of P, Ca and Mg in their foliage and are more efficient In the withdrawal of P and K upon tissue senescence than the surrounding scrub and forest species. Over a vegetation transition from sedgeland-heath to forest on uniform geology there was a change in soil type. The forest was found to have more fertile soils and a higher concentration of nutrients in the above-ground biomass than the adjacent sedgeland-heath. The ecotone was burnt between 20–30 years prior to sampling, but the fire did not kill all the forest trees, and the structural differences suggest a mare rapid recovery of forest species. Soil fertility appears to be an important factor in controlling the rate of recovery and succession following a fire, especially if the nutrient-rich organic layer is burnt.     

Maya Resurgence in Guatemala: Q'eqchi' Experiences

Maya Resurgence in Guatemala: Q'eqchi' Experiences. Richard Wilson. Norman; University of Oklahoma Press, 1995.373 pp.     

Analysis of the impact of ancient city walls on urban landscape patterns by remote sensing

As the most important construction features of ancient Chinese cities, the city walls nowadays have lost their function of enemy defense and turned to affect the urban structure and development. To clarify the impact of ancient city walls on modern urban development, this work was conducted to measure the differences of landscape types and levels between the inner and outer walls of three typical ancient Chinese cities with the help of geoinformatics materials and landscape ecology indices. The results of this research proved that city walls have great impact on landscape pattern. Specifically, the aggregation, fragmentation, diversity and evenness of landscape were strongly affected by well-preserved ancient city walls. By sorting out and consulting historical documents and China's “City Walls Protection Regulations”, we also found that city walls help the old city to retain its original style and design characteristics. The findings of this quantitative-analysis-based historical study can provide a theoretical basis for the protection of historical heritage and landscape design.

     

Cryptic speciation in two widespread subterranean amphipod genera reflects historical drainage patterns in an ancient landscape

The landscape of the Pilbara region of Western Australia has been relatively unchanged for 100 million years. The ancient river systems of this region might be expected to be sources of isolation and divergence for aquatic species. Hence, the occurrence of widespread groundwater taxa in this landscape offers the opportunity to examine associations between genetic diversity and drainage patterns. Pilbarus and Chydaekata are two widespread genera of subterranean amphipods endemic to the Pilbara, each occupying multiple tributaries. We used molecular data to examine the roles of drainage patterns in structuring genetic diversity. Gene flow within a tributary may be facilitated by the occasional occurrence of these amphipods in springs, which results in their downstream dispersal during episodic flooding. However, tributary boundaries may form hydrological barriers to gene flow, resulting in localised isolation of populations and divergence. Samples of both genera, collected throughout three river basins, were examined for sequence divergence in the cytochrome c oxidase I mitochondrial gene. There was no evidence of contemporary gene flow among populations of either genus, and each tributary contained highly divergent lineages, which were not associated with similar morphological differentiation. This suggests cryptic speciation has occurred, and similar phylogenetic signals in both taxa imply similar evolutionary histories. Surface populations may have been driven into subterranean refugia by the cessation of flow in the rivers, associated with Tertiary climate change, while morphological evolution may have been constrained by stabilising selection. The lack of congruence between molecular diversity and morphology raises important practical issues for conservation.     

The Machete and the Cross: Campesino Rebellion in Yucatan: The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom: Río Azul: An Ancient Maya City

The Machete and the Cross: Campesino Rebellion in Yucatan. Don E. Dumond. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997.571pp.
The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom. Grant D. Jones. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998.568 pp.
Río Azul: An Ancient Maya City. Richard E. W. Adams. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999. 238 pp.     

Plant composition in the Maya Biosphere Reserve: natural and anthropogenic influences

We studied the floristic composition and stand structure of lowland forests of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) of El Petén, Guatemala. Sampling was performed over a gradient of human influence, including a newly established returnee community (migrant), the cooperative Unión Maya Itzá, as well as an adjacent protected area within the core area of the MBR. Five 1-ha plots, each divided into 100 contiguous 10 × 10 m² subplots, were used to record presence of all tree and vine species. The study area is a low-diversity rainforest with a canopy layer dominated by species of Fabaceae, a shrub layer dominated by Rubiaceae, and vines dominated by Bignoniaceae. Vines were conspicuous both in number and in diversity. Variation in both tree life-form composition and canopy abundance pattern apparently reflect variation in intensity of forestry among the plots. The similarities between the plots in the cooperative (a logging plot and a settlement plot) with regard to species area curves, and mean number of tree and understory species per subplot, may indicate effects of disturbance (in general) on vegetation structure. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was used to investigate gradients in species composition among the five plots (125 subplots) and to generate hypotheses about vegetation–environment relationships. The study area appears as a mosaic of site-specific forest types or associations determined by a particular species or groups of co-dominant species. The main environmental characteristics of the area determining species composition and structure are related to the drainage of soils and human disturbance.     

Mapping and predicting deforestation patterns in the lowlands of Sumatra

Protected area managers have limited resources and so need fine-scale information to decide where to focus their budgets for law enforcement and community outreach. This study used satellite imagery to map and analyse forest loss in an area that overlaps with Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra, to identify areas most susceptible to illegal logging. Between 1985 and 1992, forest located at lower elevation and close to roads was most vulnerable to clearance. These factors were also significant between 1992 and 1999, along with distance to newly created logging roads. The presence of these roads probably explained why the deforestation rate increased from 1.1% per year to 3.0% per year over the two study periods. The accuracy of the 1985–1992 model was measured in the field and successfully predicted subsequent deforestation patterns, suggesting that this methodology could be used to identify where future patrolling effort and community outreach programmes should be focussed. In addition, this approach could be used more widely in conservation planning to prioritise the protection of vulnerable sites.