Wetland environments and ancient maya management systems of the near-coastal eastern Yucatan Peninsula: a comparison of northern Belize and northern Quintana Roo, Mexico

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Two major freshwater wetland systems of the eastern Maya Lowlands are the riverine-associated wetlands around the New and Hondo Rivers of northern Belize, and the wetlands of the Yalahau region of northern Quintana Roo, Mexico, which are found in karstic depressions associated with the Holbox fracture zone. Both of these wetland systems are linked directly to the freshwater aquifers of the respective regions. In northern Belize the nature and timing of ancient Maya manipulation of the wetlands has been a source of long-standing debate. It has been suggested that ancient Maya use of wetlands in northern Belize has been significantly impacted by changes in the water table resulting primarily from changes in sea level. Recent and ongoing research in the Yalahau region has documented widespread evidence for manipulation of the wetlands by the ancient Maya, as well as evidence from wetland sediment studies that indicate a highly dynamic hydrological history. Comparing the historical ecology of the two major wetland systems has implications for the trajectories of ancient settlement and economic change in the eastern Maya Lowlands. eng

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