Archeological and environmental lessons for the Anthropocene from the Classic Maya collapse

Anthropocene xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

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ANCENE-22; No. of Pages 13

Archeological and environmental lessons for the Anthropocene from the ClassicMaya collapse

Douglas J. Kennett a,*, Timothy P. Beach b

a Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United Statesb Science, Technology, and International Affairs, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, United States

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history:

Received 18 June 2013

Received in revised form 8 December 2013

Accepted 10 December 2013

Keywords:

Agriculture

Deforestation

Erosion

Climate change

Warfare

Political failure

A B S T R A C T

The original formulation of the ‘‘Anthropocene’’ emphasized the global environmental change resulting

from expanding human populations and fossil fuel burning since the industrial revolution of the late

18th century. Politically, the message is that scientists and engineers should work toward an

internationally accepted sustainable future. This assumes, and is dependent upon, maintaining the

integrity of our increasingly interconnected social, economic, and political systems worldwide.

Anthropogenic environmental change and degradation (e.g., global warming, sea-level rise, erosion)

within the context of the Anthropocene has the potential to displace populations, undermine food

security and human health, stimulate conflict, and destabilize social, economic and political systems.

Ultimately, we do not know if our political systems could withstand these forces or whether degradation

would lead to increased war and further environmental degradation. We can, however, study the

complex processes of political collapse retrospectively in the archeological and historical records. In this

paper, we examine one such predecessor in world history, the widespread collapse of Classic Maya

polities within the context of anthropogenic and climate-driven environmental change between AD 600

and 1000. We conclude that the staggered collapse of inter-connected and rigidly organized political

centers ultimately resulted from multiple drivers including anthropogenic and climate-driven

environmental change. Any way one looks at Maya history suggests a precursor toward the

Anthropocene: greatly changed forests and soils, water management and food production, population

increase and aggregation, and even alteration of local hydrology and climate caused by deforestation and

wetland manipulation.

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Anthropocene

jo ur n al ho m epag e: ww w.els evier . c om / lo cat e/an c en e

1. Introduction

Global warming and environmental change are unintendedconsequences of fossil-fuel burning and large-scale landusechange that have increased the concentration of ‘‘greenhouse’’gases in the earth’s atmosphere (CO2 by 30%; CH4 by over 100%;Crutzen, 2002). These atmospheric changes follow an upwardtrend in anthropogenically induced CO2 and CH4 evident in polarice starting in the late 18th century that is coincident withincreased reliance on fossil fuels and rapidly expanding globalpopulations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) projects high confidence of global warming in the range of1.5–4.5 8C based on a doubling of atmospheric CO2 (IPCC, 2013,Working Group I) likely within the next century. There are manylikely negative impacts, such as sea-level rise. Increases in averageglobal temperatures are also linked to extremes in the earth’s

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 814 863 4575.

E-mail address: [email protected] (D.J. Kennett).

Please cite this article in press as: Kennett, D.J., Beach, T.P., ArcheoloClassic Maya collapse. Anthropocene (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.10

2213-3054/$ – see front matter � 2013 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2013.12.002

hydrological cycle (e.g., drought and floods) that undermine foodsecurity and have major implications for human health, welfare,and societal infrastructure (Patz et al., 2005; IPCC, 2007, WorkingGroup II), though we still do not know how global warming wouldaffect some of the big climate influences like hurricanes and ENSO.The middle and upper ends of the range (the likely 4.5 8C and veryunlikely levels of 6 8C or above, IPCC, 2013) potentially put oursocial, economic, and political systems at risk because they areinter-connected and certainly vulnerable to economic andenvironmental shocks. The ‘‘Anthropocene’’ – originally definedas the last three centuries of human domination of earth’secosystems (Crutzen, 2002) – brings focus to the acute nature ofthese problems, the era’s rareness in the geological record, and theneed for collective political action to build a more environmen-tally stable future.

Lessons from our past embedded in the archeological andhistorical records indicate that the unintended consequences ofhuman action have influenced environmental productivity anddestabilized sociopolitical systems before. This does not reduce thedire significance of the anthropogenic changes to the earth’s

gical and environmental lessons for the Anthropocene from the16/j.ancene.2013.12.002


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D.J. Kennett, T.P. Beach / Anthropocene xxx (2014) xxx–xxx2

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atmosphere today or the importance of establishing policies thatmitigate these effects going into the future. Although theimportance of each example is contested (McAnany and Yoffee,2010), we can point to a number of cases in the past whereanthropogenic environmental change has undermined the veryfabric of human society, reducing crop yields, increasing humansuffering and conflict and ultimately the collapse of economic,social and political systems (e.g., Maya, Turner and Sabloff, 2012;Chaco Canyon, English et al., 2001; Near East; Artzy and Hillel,1988; Jacobsen and Adams, 1958). There are also success storiesindicating both environmental and sociopolitical resilience andadaptation in the face of environmental change (McAnany andYoffee, 2010; Luzzadder-Beach et al., 2012; Butzer, 2012). Thecollapse or persistence of ancient states in the context ofunintended anthropogenic environmental change therefore pro-vides a starting point for studying the complex socio-ecologicaldynamics promoting societal sustainability or collapse underchanging conditions (Butzer, 2012). The complexity of theseinteractions provides lessons for policy makers consideringanthropogenic global climate change today.

The staggered and widespread collapse of Classic Maya politicalcenters between AD 750 and 1000 provides a case in point. Morethan 113 monument-bearing low density urban centers emergedin the tropical lowlands at different times during the ClassicPeriod; each with populations ranging from �10,000 (e.g.,Uxbenka; Prufer et al., 2011; Culleton, 2012) to 60,000 plus(e.g., Tikal, Culbert and Rice, 1990) people. In addition, thousandsof smaller sites, many dating to this interval, dotted the landscapebetween these larger population centers (Witschey and Brown,2013). It is difficult, if not impossible, to estimate how many peoplewere living in the tropical Maya lowlands, but estimates rangebetween three (Culbert and Rice, 1990) and 10 million at AD 700(Scarborough and Burnside, 2010). Stone monuments at �35primary political centers during the Late Classic Period (AD 600–900) show a complex network of antagonistic, diplomatic,subordinate and kinship relationships (Munson and Macri,2009). The collapse of Classic Maya political systems played outover centuries starting with the first evidence for politicalfragmentation in the Petexbatun region between AD 760 and800 (Demarest, 2004a; O’Mansky and Dunning, 2004; Tourtellotand Gonzalez, 2004). A 50% reduction in the number of centerswith dated-stone monuments between AD 800 and 825 signaledthe widespread collapse of kingship and this important politicalinstitution had largely disappeared in the central and southernlowlands by AD 900.

Politically important centers shifted north to the Yucatan ascenters failed in the southern and central Maya lowlands (Sabloff,2007), and depopulation took centuries and involved migration,reorganization, and persistence in some regions (Laporte, 2004;Webster et al., 2004). Political reintegration is also evident at a smallnumber of centers during the Postclassic Period (Chichen Itza; AD900–1150, Andrews et al., 2003; Mayapan; AD 1100–1300; PerazaLope et al., 2006; Wild Cane Cay, McKillop, 1989, 2005) and Lamanaiwas occupied into the 17th century (Graham et al., 1989). Mayawriting persisted along with a derivative calendrical system untilSpanish contact when both systems were lost and most books, savefour remaining examples, were burned (Stuart, 2011). A variety ofMaya languages persisted, and there has been a resurgence of Mayaspeaking peoples throughout the region today.

Widespread economic and political collapse in the TerminalClassic central lowlands resulted from complex socio-ecologicalprocesses. These occurred within the context of expandingpopulations and associated environmental impacts along withclimate change and adaptations favoring integration as well asdisintegration (Yaeger and Hodell, 2008; Scarborough and Burn-side, 2010; Dunning et al., 2012). There is a large literature


characterizing or questioning societal collapses (Diamond, 2005;McAnany and Yoffee, 2010) and how and why they may occur(Yoffee and Cowgill, 1988; Tainter, 1988; Turchin, 2003).Compared with many societal transformations recorded in thearcheological record, the Classic Maya collapse was dramatic,involved an extended interval of conflict and war, was fraught withhuman suffering or variance in well-being (sensu Wood, 1998),resulted in population dislocation and decline, and instigatedmajor restructuring of political and economic systems. In ourdiscussion we consider the severity of these transformations usingthe ‘‘rigidity trap’’ concept from resilience theory (Hegmon et al.,2008) as a point of connection with the environmental transfor-mations associated with the Anthropocene.

2. The interconnected Classic Maya World

Classic Maya (AD 300–900; Goodman-Martınez-Thompson[GMT] correlation; Kennett et al., 2013) civic-ceremonial lifewas centered upon the institution of kingship (Demarest, 2004b).The city-states or polities (sensu Webster, 1997) governed by thesekings, with a small group of non-food producing elite, extendedacross the Yucatan Peninsula and south through adjacent portionsof modern day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, andHonduras. Emblem glyphs associated with this office are knownfrom forty-four of the largest and most influential centers (Martinand Grube, 2000; Fig. 1) and architecture and stone monuments atmany other centers suggest the existence of comparable royalpositions. These cities were dispersed or low-density urban centers(6–12 people per hectare; Drennan, 1988, though up to 26–30 atChunchumil; Dahlin et al., 2005) as opposed to higher densityMesoamerican cities such as Teotihuacan or Tenochtitlan (50–130people per hectare; see Feinman and Nicholas, 2012). Events in thelives of the most successful kings were commemorated with datedhieroglyphic texts carved on stone monuments (stela) and woodenlintel beams. The first dated monument comes from the importantcenter of Tikal (AD 292) and the tradition proliferated to more thanforty centers by AD 600 and 800 (Stuart, 1993). These provide aremarkably well-dated chronicle of royal successions, ceremony,war, and political interaction between these low-density urbancenters (Martin and Grube, 2000) that can be compared toarcheological, paleoecological, and climatic data through time (e.g.,Kennett et al., 2012).

The basis of Classic Maya Kingship was political and economic(Tourtellot and Sabloff, 1972; Graham, 1987; Rice, 1987; Marcus,1993; McAnany, 1993; Scarborough and Valdez, 2009; Scarbor-ough and Burnside, 2010), with backing from an elite fighting force(Webster, 2002). Ritual and ideology, as reflected in art, architec-ture and writing was used to display and reinforce this power(Demarest, 2004b). The integrity of kingship had major economicand social implications for people integrated into these polities.Evidence from texts indicates that a defeat in war undermined theoffice and put a polity into political or economic decline (e.g., Tikalhiatus, AD 562–692; Caracol hiatus, AD 680–798; Martin andGrube, 2000) followed by reinvigoration of the office and greaterprosperity under the rule of a different king. Key ritualresponsibilities of the king at each center were to appease thegods and bring order to the universe through highly ritualizedpublic ceremonies dictated by the Maya calendar, astronomicalobservations, and the agricultural cycle (Theatre-State; Demarest,2004b). To influence the gods, kings would imbibe hallucinogens toenter the spirit world, provide auto-sacrifice by perforating theirtongues or genitalia, or capture and sacrifice elite members ofcompeting groups (Martin and Grube, 2000). These traditions havefoundations in the Preclassic Period (1500 BC–AD 300; Friedel andSchele, 1988; Estrada Belli, 2011; Inomata et al., 2013) and werecentral to the ritual celebrations of the office of kingship. However,



Fig. 1. Map showing the distribution of Classic Period Maya centers with emblem glyphs and other archeological and environmental sequences mentioned in text.

Environmental sequences are shown with an asterisk as: 1, San Andres, Tabasco (Pope et al., 2001); 2, Cob Swamp (Pohl et al., 1996); 3, Pulltrowser swamp (Pohl et al., 1996);

4, Cob Swamp (Jones, 1994); 5, Northern Peten (Wahl et al., 2006); 6, Peten Lakes region (Anselmetti et al., 2007); 7, Piedras Negras (Fernandez et al., 2005); 8, Pasion region

(Beach et al., 2006); 9, Quirigua (Ashmore, 2007); 10, Lake Yojoa (Rue, 1987); 11, Chunchucmil (Dunning and Beach, 2010); 12, Yalahau (Fedick and Morrison, 2004); 13,

Eastern Yucatan (Sedov et al., 2008); 14, Copan Valley region (Rue, 1987; McNeil et al., 2010); 15, Pulltrowser Swamp (Turner and Harrison, 1981); 16, Rio Bravo Region

(Luzzadder-Beach et al., 2012). Figure drafted by T. Harper. Drawings of emblem glyphs by R. Van Rossman.

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the success or failure of a king was best monitored by the economicand political integrity of each polity and the impact on the agrarianpopulation via the agricultural cycle and associated prosperity orhuman suffering.

Political centers were nodes within overlapping and interactingeconomic and sociopolitical networks. These networks served ascommunication and trade conduits that changed through theClassic Period as kings negotiated antagonistic and cooperativerelationships with kings and queens from other polities. Linkagesextended across the peninsula, and commerce and contact wereprimarily via foot along paths, elevated causeways near politicalcenters (e.g., Shaw, 2008; Dahlin et al., 2010; Chase et al., 2011) andrivers. Shared ceramic styles across the region in the Early Classic(AD 300–600) suggest a broad cultural identity that appears tobreak down and become more regionalized in the Late Classic (Ball,1993). Within this network, kings legitimized their rulership andattracted followers via status rivalry, warfare, and elaborate ritualdisplays. A variety of antagonistic, diplomatic, and lineage-basednetworks are evident in historical texts (Munson and Macri, 2009)and economic linkages are evident in the archeological record with


patterned distributions of exotic materials (e.g., obsidian, McKil-lop, 1996a; Braswell et al., 2000; Nazaroff et al., 2010; Golitko et al.,2012; Moholy-Nagy et al., 2013). Polities were largely autonomousentities (e.g., peer-polities; Schele and Freidel, 1990; Carmean andSabloff, 1996; Webster, 1997), but subordinate relationshipsbetween centers became more frequent in the Late Classic (e.g.,Calakmul’s subordination of multiple centers, see yellow lines inFig. 2) and some have argued for a small number of stronglycentralized states by this time (Marcus, 1976; Chase and Chase,1996; Martin and Grube, 1995, 2000). Texts indicate that statusrivalry and warfare played a critical role in the rise and fall ofindividual political centers (Martin and Grube, 2000), and thereverberating effects of political failure were experienced moststrongly by other polities nearby. In the central portions of theMaya lowlands (e.g., Central Peten, Belize, Yucatan, and Usuma-cinta-Pasion) densely aggregated political centers were tightlypacked (25–30 km spacing) and interconnected as a result ofeconomic spacing of Maya cities.

Dynastic succession was largely, but not entirely, patrilineal(see Schele and Freidel, 1990 for examples), and the most



Fig. 2. Map showing antagonistic, diplomatic, lineage based and subordinate relationships between major Classic Maya centers based on written texts (Munson and Macri,

2009). Distribution of sites with dated monuments is based on Kennett et al. (2012) and other Maya site locations are based on The Electronic Atlas of Ancient Maya Sites

(Witschey and Brown, http://mayagis.smv.org/).


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successful dynasties persisted for centuries once they wereestablished (most between AD 300 and 500), but started to failin rapid succession after AD 750. Dated stone monumentproduction, a proxy for the voracity of kingship droppedprecipitously at several large centers between AD 780 and 800(see Fig. 4). This was followed by a 50% drop (from 40 to 20) in thenumber of centers producing monuments between AD 800 and820 and continued to decline into the early part of the 10thcentury. Building campaigns ceased at these locations andassociated populations dispersed. Some regions were depopulatedrapidly (e.g., inland southern Belize), whereas some populationspersisted into the Early Postclassic (until �AD 1000–1100) andeven into the historic period (e.g., Lamanai, Graham et al., 1989;Wild Cane Cay, McKillop, 1989, 2005). There was an overall shifttoward peri-coastal settlement and seaborne transport (Turnerand Sabloff, 2012) during the Postclassic Period. Classic Periodeconomic, social and political networks failed within �100 yearsduring the 9th century across much of the southern and centralMaya Lowlands and did not recover (Turner, 1990; Turner andSabloff, 2012).

3. Agricultural foundations of Classic Maya polities

Classic Maya polities were founded upon a diverse array of foodproduction systems that developed in response to regionaldifferences in topography, geology, and hydrology (Fedick and


Ford, 1990; Dunning et al., 2002; Luzzadder-Beach et al., 2012).This occurred through human–environment interactions thatstarted with climatic amelioration and increased atmosphericCO2 content during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (Richersonet al., 2001; Piperno and Pearsall, 1998). Culturally this corre-sponds to the Archaic Period (�7000–2000/1000 BC; Flannery,1986; Kennett, 2012; Voorhies, 2004) in Mesoamerica, a longtransitional period between the presumed and poorly defined big-game hunting traditions of the Late Pleistocene and the rise andproliferation of agricultural villages during the middle and lateHolocene. The primary Mesoamerican cultigens (Zea mays [maize],Cucurbita pepo/Cucurbita argyrosperma [squash], and Phaseolus

vulgaris [common bean]) were not domesticated in the MayaLowlands (Smith, 1997; Piperno et al., 2009; Kaplan and Lynch,1999; Piperno and Smith, 2012), but were introduced fromelsewhere in Mesoamerica during the Archaic Period. Each hasits own domestication history and eventually they were growntogether in fields to obtain symbiotic effects of fertilization(Flannery, 1973). Changes in the size and character of thesedomesticates (e.g., maize cob size) have continually changedthrough time as a product of human selection. The earliestevidence for squash (C. pepo) comes from the central Mexicanhighlands (8000 BC; Smith, 1997) and C. argyroperma is also foundwithin the Neotropical lowlands early in time (Piperno andPearsall, 1998). Molecular evidence places the domestication ofbeans (P. vularis) in the early Holocene (�7000 BC; Sonnante et al.,


http://mayagis.smv.org/



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1994), but the earliest macrofossils come from the highlands ofMexico (1300 BC, Tehuacan Valley; Kaplan and Lynch, 1999). Awide range of other seed and vegetable crops, trees, roots,succulents, condiments, and industrial plants (e.g., cotton) werealso domesticated in Mesoamerica (Piperno and Pearsall, 1998;Piperno and Smith, 2012). The Classic Maya probably grew manyof these in house gardens, but most of these plant species arepollinated by animals, rather than wind dispersal, so they areless likely to accumulate in paleoecological records (Fedick,2010). Chile pepper, avocado and chocolate are the best knownof these crops. Manioc was also an important early crop in theMaya Lowlands (Pohl et al., 1996; Pope et al., 2001; Sheets et al.,2012), but was domesticated in South America (Piperno andSmith, 2012).

Domesticated animals played a limited role in Mesoamericansubsistence economies (Piperno and Smith, 2012). Only threedomesticated animal species, dog (Canis canis), turkey (Meleagris

gallopavo gallopavo), and the muscovy duck (Cairina moschata),played a significant role in the Mesoamerican household economy.Domesticated dogs likely entered the Americas with colonizinghuman populations from Asia (Leonard et al., 2002). The turkeywas domesticated in Mesoamerica sometime during the middle orlate Holocene (Speller et al., 2010). Herd animals similar to the OldWorld context (e.g., sheep, goats and cows) were absent.

Z. mays (maize) ultimately became the most important sourceof calories in Mesoamerica, particularly when combined withbeans to create a critical protein source given the lack of animalprotein. Maize is also the most visible cultigen in the paleoecolog-ical record. Molecular evidence puts the domestication of maize inthe central Balsas of Mexico �7000 BC (Matsuoka et al., 2002) andmaize microfossils (starch and phytoliths) from XihuatoxtalShelter in this region indicate domestication, along with squash(likely C. argyrosperma), by 6700 BC (Piperno et al., 2009). Maizepollen and phytoliths in lake sediments and peri-coastal wetlands,suggest widespread dispersal through the lowland Neotropics ofMesoamerica between �5600 and 4500 BC (Pope et al., 2001; Pohlet al., 2007, Kennett et al., 2010).

The first appearance of maize pollen and phytoliths inpaleoecological records from lakes and wetlands in the lowlandNeotropics is coincident with increased charcoal flux, a reductionin tree pollen and the appearance of disturbance plant taxa (Jones,1994; Pohl et al., 1996; Pope et al., 2001; Neff et al., 2006; Kennettet al., 2010). Investments in niche construction (e.g., forestclearance; Smith, 2007) suggest that slash-and-burn farmingcontributed significantly to the diet (Kennett et al., 2010). Thisoccurs by 5200 BC along the western periphery of the Maya region(Tabasco; Pope et al., 2001; Pohl et al., 2007) and is evident in theperi-coastal fringe of the eastern lowlands by 2000 BC (Pohl et al.,1996). Slash-and-burn farming is well suited to the high netprimary productivity and rapid regrowth of secondary forest inlowland tropical forests. The agricultural cycle tracks changes inrainfall linked to the position of the Inter-Tropical ConvergenceZone (ITCZ; Haug et al., 2001). Forest plots are cleared and burnedduring the dry season (December–May) and maize is planted alongwith other crops (squash, gourd, pumpkin) just prior to the rains inMay/June (Wilk, 1991). This primary crop is generally harvested inSeptember. Second and even third crops can be planted inpersistently moist soils along wetland margins or in relict riverchannels closer to the water table, and a mulching technique issometimes used to produce a second crop in drier areas(matambre = hunger crop; Culleton, 2012) to hedge againstpotential shortfalls in the primary harvest. All of these techniquesare methods of agricultural intensification that would be very hardto detect archeologically or within the paleoecological record.Long-term storage of grain is not an option in the Neotropics andcannot be used to reduce year-to-year variations in crop yield


(Webster, 1985). Dry conditions or unpredictable rains underminefood production.

The Classic Maya also used a range of other crops and landesquecultivation systems (e.g., terraces, raised fields) in a complexagrarian mosaic linked to topographic, geological and hydrologicalvariation across the region (Fedick and Ford, 1990; Fedick, 1996;Beach et al., 2002, 2009). Modern house gardens, founded upon theearliest forms of door-yard food production (Piperno and Smith,2012), produce a wide range of edible and medicinal plants, alongwith condiments. There is evidence from some regions for ClassicPeriod house gardens with soils augmented to increase productiv-ity (Fedick and Morrison, 2004). Economically valuable tree crops(e.g., chocolate, avocado) were also grown in these gardens. Theforest itself was an important source of subsistence resources andprovided a range of other ecosystem services, including buildingmaterials and fuel. Tree cropping occurred (McKillop, 1994, 1996b;Puleston, 1978), and there is some evidence for forest managementat the largest Maya centers (e.g., Tikal, Lentz and Hockaday, 2009;Copan, McNeil et al., 2010). In the most populated parts of theMaya World there was a trade-off between land clearance forstaple crop production (maize) and the reduction of forestecosystem services.

Terraces were used to stabilize the landscape in well-drainedkarst upland environments as forest was removed across thelowlands (Fig. 3; Murtha, 2002; Beach et al., 2002; Beach andDunning, 1995). These include contour terraces and check dams tocapture sediments in drainages. Extensive terracing is known fromthe Becan region and surrounding Caracol (Belize, Chase et al.,2011). The earliest known terraces come from the late Preclassic/Early Classic Period (�AD 250; Beach et al., 2002) and they becamemore frequent during the Classic Period when more land was putinto agricultural production to feed the growing population. Insome locales (e.g., Caracol) extensive terrace systems wereconstructed by the middle of the Classic Period (AD 500–600)and used until abandonment in the ninth century (Murtha, 2002).The Maya also benefited from natural terrace systems caused byfractures and diking in bedrock geology (Culleton, 2012). It isdifficult to determine the extent of terrace systems in the Mayaregion because they are shrouded with primary and secondaryvegetation. The remarkable extent of Caracol’s terrace systems,both natural and human made, was only revealed with remotesensing technology that penetrates forest canopy (LIDAR; Chaseet al., 2011). Terracing in most parts of the Maya world, however,does not appear to be as extensive based on traditional land-basedsurvey.

The Maya also used wetland agricultural systems (Beach et al.,2009; Luzzadder-Beach et al., 2012; Beach and Luzzadder-Beach,2013). Coastal wetlands and mangrove forest fringe much of theregion, and in areas where rivers flow to the coast, broadfloodplains developed and flooded during the wet season (June–December). Large and small karst depressions (bajos) in the Mayalowlands (Fig. 3) were transformed through erosion from perennialwetlands and lakes to seasonal swamps between 400 BC and AD250 (Dunning et al., 2002). Within the context of slash-and-burnfarming the margins of these wetlands provided an opportunity foragricultural intensification because a second crop could be plantedin the moist soils as the margins of the wetlands receded in the dryseason. Settlements clustered around wetlands for their earlyimportance as water sources (Dunning et al., 2002) and then laterwhen more intensified forms of agriculture were needed (Fedickand Morrison, 2004). Raised fields were also constructed inseasonally and perennially flooded zones to reclaim land andcontrol water flow to create more optimal conditions for intensivefarming regimes. The first raised fields were identified by Siemensin the Candalaria region of Campeche, Mexico (1982; also seeSiemens and Puleston, 1972), but some of the clearest examples of



Fig. 3. Map showing seasonal and perennial wetlands along with evidence for Preclassic and Classic Maya landesque capital (terraces, hydrological engineering, and wetland

alteration including raised fields) mentioned in text. Figure drafted by T. Harper.


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Please cite this article in press as: Kennett, D.J., Beach, T.P., Archeological and environmental lessons for the Anthropocene from theClassic Maya collapse. Anthropocene (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2013.12.002



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these rectilinear field systems come from northern Belize (Siemensand Puleston, 1972; Turner, 1974; Turner and Harrison, 1981;Beach et al., 2009; Luzzadder-Beach et al., 2012). Subsequent workon the Belizean systems suggests that natural processes areresponsible for some of these distinctive rectilinear features (Pohlet al., 1996) and resulted from a combination of anthropogenic andnatural processes (Beach et al., 2009). The systems in northernBelize and southern Campeche are the best studied, but others areknown from Mexico’s Bajo Morocoy of Quintana Roo (Gleissmanet al., 1983). Unique water control systems are also known fromthe Yalahau region in the northern lowlands (Fedick and Morrison,2004), Palenque in the western periphery of the Maya region(French and Duffy, 2010; French et al., 2012), Tikal in the centrallowlands (Scarborough et al., 2012) and a number of other smallercenters (Fig. 3).

Food, and by extension labor, provided the foundation for thehierarchical structure of Classic Maya society. The hieroglyphicwriting, art, architecture, and science (engineering, astronomy andmathematics) would not exist without food production systemssufficient and stable enough to feed the population and the non-food-producing elite. Kingship and the hierarchical structure ofMaya society added an additional burden to household foodproduction. This was particularly true in the Late Classic (AD 600–800) when building campaigns and artistic achievement peakedregionally, possibly indicating weaknesses in the overall sociopo-litical system (Stuart, 1993), and created additional demands onlabor and production. The labor demands of slash-and-burnfarming make it difficult for subsistence farmers to produce greatsurpluses and long-term storage of grain in the lowland tropics islimited (Webster, 1985). More intensive agricultural systemsevident in some parts of the Maya world (e.g., terraces and raisedfields) alleviated this to a certain extent, but Maya kings werelimited to only minimal labor or food taxes (perhaps 10%maximum, Webster, 1985). During the best years a 10% tax onfood surplus or labor would be relatively easy for farmers toabsorb, but taxation at this level may have become moreburdensome with deteriorating agro-ecological systems causedby anthropogenic or climate-driven environmental change. Giventhe instabilities inherent in this complex socioeconomic system,even modest changes in climate impacting agricultural productiv-ity could have undermined the economic and political foundationsof Maya society (e.g., Medina-Elizalde and Rohling, 2012).

4. Unanticipated environmental consequences of agriculture

The transition to agriculture was a fundamental turning point inthe environmental history of Mesoamerica. Paleoecologicalrecords from the lowland Neotropics indicate that the cultivationof maize and other crops (e.g., squash, manioc) within slash-and-burn farming systems had major environmental impacts. Thespread of these systems was transformative, both creating thesubsistence base that sustained growing human populations intropical forest environments and the deforestation and environ-mental impacts associated with the expansion of more intensiveagricultural systems. These early farmers carved out niches fromthe forest to serve their own needs, and initially this would havehad little impact on other ecosystem services. However, reductionin the abundance of tree pollen and increases in disturbance planttaxa (e.g., Poacea) increased through time and occurred simulta-neously with increases in maize pollen and phytoliths (Neff et al.,2006; Pope et al., 2001; Kennett et al., 2010). Pulses of erosion werealso unintended by-products of land clearance and agriculture(sensu Hooke, 2000; Brown et al., 2013) and became morepersistent after 1500 BC leading to large-scale landscape transfor-mation in some parts of Mesoamerica (Goman et al., 2005).


Agriculture provided the necessary foundation for unprece-dented population growth and the stable caloric output needed tosupport the aggregation of people into larger settlements andultimately into low-density urban centers (e.g., logistics of feedingcities, see Zeder, 1991). Adaptations to expanding humanpopulations and associated agricultural systems included terracingto stabilize erosion and reclamation of lands not initially suitablefor agricultural systems (e.g., lakes, wetlands). Large-scale buildingprojects in urban centers (temples, palaces, pyramids, ballcourts,causeways) developed with the ratcheting effects of populationincrease and agricultural intensification (e.g., Malthus-Boserupratchet; Woods 1998) and the emergence and solidification ofClassic Period political hierarchies. People in the Maya regiontherefore became important geomorphic agents (Beach et al.,2008) in the complex interplay between environmental change,societal resilience and political integration or collapse.

Environmental alterations associated with expanding agricul-tural populations in the Maya lowlands were highly variedspatially and temporally, as were the adaptive responses tomediate these impacts. The first evidence for forest clearingappears along the western periphery of the Maya lowlands (SanAndres; Pope et al., 2001; Pohl et al., 2007) and occurssimultaneously with the appearance of cultivated maize pollenand phytoliths at 5100 BC. Forest clearance is indicated by anincrease in charcoal and disturbance plant taxa from the familyPoaceae. By 5000 BC, larger maize pollen grains, more consistentwith domesticated varieties, appear in the record and landclearance associated with slash-and-burn farming was well underway by 4800 BC. Manioc pollen appears by 4600 BC when forestburning and clearing peaked. Other domesticated plants appear inthe record after 2600 BC (Sunflower [Helianthus annuus] andCotton [Gossypium]). Deforestation is also evident in the easternMaya lowlands (northern Belize) by 2500 BC, approximately 900years after the initial influx of maize and manioc pollen into thesesediments (3360 and 3400 BC respectively; Pohl et al., 1996).Slash-and-burn maize cultivation expanded after 2500 BC. At thistime Moraceae pollen (mostly from trees) declined, charcoal fluxincreased and disturbance vegetation became more common (e.g.,Poaceae, Asteraceas). Paleoecological data from Cobweb swamp isconsistent with expanding slash-and-burn farming between 2500and 2000 BC (Jones, 1994) and the number of aceramic (LateArchaic) archeological sites increased in the area (Hester andShafer, 1984; Iceland, 1997; Rosenswig and Masson, 2001;Rosenswig et al., 2014).

Tropical forest covered much of the Maya lowlands and itsspatial and temporal extent is controlled mostly by climate,specifically the position of the ITCZ and subtropical high (Muelleret al., 2009), and soil, fire, and the management by humanpopulations. Tropical forest provided a wide range of ecosystemservices (animal and plant foods, building material, medicine, fuel;Puleston, 1978; Ford, 2008; Fedick, 2010) that were reduced byagricultural expansion associated with growing human popula-tions and the aggregation of people into cities. Deforested landswere more susceptible to erosion (Anselmetti et al., 2007; Beachet al., 2008; see below), and reductions in soil moisture contentfavoring grasses and other disturbance taxa reduced native speciesimportant for ecosystem sustainability (e.g., leguminous speciesthat help fix nitrogen in soils; Flores and Carvajal, 1994; Dunninget al., 2012). Nutrient levels in soils are also compromised bydeforestation because the canopy serves to recycle nutrients andcapture airborne particulates that enrich the soil (e.g., ash;Tankersley et al., 2011). Extensive forest clearance and theestablishment of cityscapes can also serve as an amplifier ofdrought (Shaw, 2003; Oglesby et al., 2010; Cook et al., 2012) due tosurface albedo increasing reflection of solar radiation (Cook et al.,2012). We should note that in some places like Chunchucmil




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(Beach, 1998) and Amazonia with terra preta the longer net effectof archeological sites was to increase soil fertility through middensand plaster.

Paleoecological sequences from the Peten Lakes district(Northern Guatemala; see Fig. 1) indicate the maximal extent oftropical moist forest taxa (e.g., Brosimum, Ficus, Manilkara,Thouinia, Sapium) occurred during the Middle Holocene thermalmaximum (6000–2500 BC; Hodell et al., 1991; Haug et al., 2001;Leyden, 2002; Mueller et al., 2009). Reduction in forest extent after2500 BC was not uniform, but a complex process related tochanging climatic conditions; human population expansion;contraction and redistribution; and the success or failure of theMaya to manage the deleterious effects of deforestation as citiesswelled and more land was put into agricultural production at theexpense of forest habitat. Farming systems expanded along theeastern coastal margins of the Maya lowlands after 2500 BC(Guderjan et al., 2009), and deforestation is clearly associated withpioneer farmers cultivating maize and moving farther into theinterior of northern Guatemala (Mirador Basin; Wahl et al., 2006).Forest reduction is also evident in western Honduras by 2500 BCand linked to the expansion of agricultural systems (Rue, 1987).The picture appears to be more complicated in the Peten Lakesregion where reductions in forest cover precede the appearance ofZ. mays and more closely tracks climate drying between 2500 and1000 BC (Mueller et al., 2009). By 1000 BC multiple records acrossthe Maya lowlands indicate forest clearance associated with thecultivation of maize and probably many other crops (Peten Lakes –Deevey et al., 1979; Binford et al., 1987; Rosenmeier et al., 2002;Anselmetti et al., 2007; Mueller et al., 2009; Western Honduras –Rue, 1987; McNeil et al., 2010; Mirador Basin – Wahl et al., 2006;Northern Belize – Jones, 1994; Guderjan et al., 2009). During theClassic Period (AD 300–900), there is evidence for both forestmanagement and the cultivation of tree crops near majorpopulation centers (Copan – McNeil et al., 2010; Tikal – Lentzand Hockaday, 2009; El Pilar – Ford, 2008; Petexbatun – Dunninget al., 1997) and the persistence or expansion of maize cultivationand associated forest clearance. Population expansion at majorcenters also placed additional demands on the forest for cookingfuel and for building materials (Turner and Sabloff, 2012). Buildingcampaigns in the Late Classic (AD 600–800) also intensified andincreased the demand for firewood to produce white lime plasterthat was used extensively to cover plaza floors and buildings(Schreiner, 2002); though sascab (degraded limestone bedrock)may require much less firing to be used for lime. Attempts tomanage certain tree species at Tikal (Manilkara) failed under thestrain of peak populations (Lentz and Hockaday, 2009). Along thenorthern shore of nearby Lake Peten Itza, the forests reboundedquickly (80–260 years) as the agricultural population decreasedwithin the catchment at the end of the Classic Period (Muelleret al., 2010). These examples show the complexities of managingforests and the likelihood of persisting forest refugia in the contextof changing agricultural populations.

Soil loss associated with deforestation and erosion was one ofthe most consequential environmental impacts associated withpopulation expansion in the Maya lowlands. Excavations in over100 localities (e.g., karst depressions, lakes) indicate increasederosion regionally between 1000 BC and AD 250 (Preclassic Period)and again between AD 550 and 900 (Late Classic; Beach et al.,2006). Increased erosion in lake basins of the Peten between 1000BC and AD 900 is represented by a massive detrital unit designatedthe ‘‘Maya Clay’’ (Deevey et al., 1979; Anselmetti et al., 2007;Mueller et al., 2009) that is highly reflective seismically anddistinctive from sediments (organic-rich gyttja) above and below(Anselmetti et al., 2007). Sedimentation rates were high through-out this interval and highest between 700 BC and AD 250(Anselmetti et al., 2007; Mueller et al., 2009). Terraces were used


throughout the region to mitigate erosion (Fig. 3) and stabilizedsome areas prior to the Late Classic Period (Caracol, Murtha, 2002).It is during this period (400 BC–AD 250) that increasedsedimentation rates transformed many of the perennial wetlandsand shallow lakes into seasonal swamps across the Maya lowlands(Dunning et al., 2002). Many of these hydrological changes weredetrimental because they altered recharge and increased eutro-phication in shallow seasonal wetlands (Dunning et al., 2012), butdeeper and moister soils along the margins of wetlands and riversprovided opportunities for agricultural intensification during theClassic Period, as did floodplain sediments once sea-level stabilizedand facilitated the expansion of wetland field agricultural systems(Beach et al., 2009; Luzzadder-Beach et al., 2012; Siemens andPuleston, 1972; Turner, 1974; Turner and Harrison, 1981) ormodest alteration of naturally occurring dry locations in peri-coastal wetlands (Antonie et al., 1982; Pohl et al., 1996).

5. Maya synthesis

The widespread collapse of Classic Maya polities between AD800 and 1000 was messy and multicausal. There are no simpleexplanations, and the complex processes involved require analysisas a coupled natural and human system (Scarborough andBurnside, 2010; Dunning et al., 2012). Indeed, the ‘‘collapse’’may be better characterized as a major societal reorganization(McAnany and Gallareta Negron, 2010), because Maya populationsand some cultural traditions (e.g., writing and a derivativecalendar) persisted through the Postclassic Period and conquest(AD 1000–1520). The Classic Maya collapse was first and foremosta political failure with initial effects on the elite sector (kings andtheir courts) that ultimately undermined the economy andstimulated the decentralization of Maya civic-ceremonial centersand the reorganization of regional populations. This occurred inmultiple stages over hundreds of years (Webster, 2002; Demarestet al., 2004; Laporte, 2004; Rice et al., 2004; Rice and Rice, 2004;Webster et al., 2004). The long-term decline of kingship as apolitical institution during the Late Classic Period (starting �AD600–650) presaged the asynchronous disintegration of urbancenters starting as early as AD 750. This culminated in widespreadnetwork failure and more rapid decline in the southern lowlandsduring the 9th century. Populations persisted in some interiorregions into the Postclassic Period (e.g., Copan – Webster et al.,2004; Zotz – Kingsley and Cambranes, 2011; Garrison, 2007; Peten– Laporte, 2004, Rice and Rice, 2004; some parts of the Pasion;Johnston et al., 2001), but most of the interior portions of thesouthern lowlands were depopulated by �AD 1000–1100 (Turnerand Sabloff, 2012). Population centers near the coast and alongrivers were more likely to persist into the Postclassic Period(McKillop, 1989, 2005; Sabloff, 2007; Turner and Sabloff, 2012),but these areas were not entirely immune and wetland fieldagriculture went into decline at the end of the Classic Period inspite of its plentiful water resources (Luzzadder-Beach et al., 2012).

There are clear linkages between military defeat and economicdecline that influenced the size and integrity of individual polities(e.g., Caracol or Tikal hiatuses; Martin and Grube, 2000). Thestability of Classic Period Maya polities was therefore dependentupon reasonably stable and productive agricultural systems andthe lack of widespread human suffering due to starvation or war. Inturn, agricultural systems across the Maya lowlands were highlyadapted to the wet and dry climatic regime and seasonal changesin rainfall linked to the position of the ITCZ and subtropical high(Haug et al., 2001). Decisions to clear, burn, and plant aredependent upon an extended dry season followed by predictablywet conditions. Crops fail if the wet season does not startpredictably or if extended droughts occur during the growingseason, though crops grown in wet environments or that used



Fig. 4. Rainfall record for the Maya region (Kennett et al., 2012) shown relative to the timing of hydrological engineering projects (Scarborough et al., 2012) and deforestation/

erosion (Anselmetti et al., 2007) in the Peten Lakes region. This is shown relative to the changing frequency of monument production and warfare throughout the Maya

lowlands (see Kennett et al., 2012 for data and details). Figure drafted by T. Harper.


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Please cite this article in press as: Kennett, D.J., Beach, T.P., Archeological and environmental lessons for the Anthropocene from theClassic Maya collapse. Anthropocene (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2013.12.002



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water harvesting such as mulching and fan terracing may providetemporary cover. Small-scale engineering projects involving watermanagement started in the Late Preclassic and expandeddramatically during the Classic Period (Scarborough and Burnside,2010). These projects altered the biophysical environment tocontend with the unpredictability of rainfall, provided clean water,and to extract more energy from these lowland tropical environ-ments. A climate reconstruction for the Maya region indicates thatremarkably high rainfall occurred during the Early Classic to LateClassic Periods (AD 440–660) and favored stable agriculturalproduction along with population expansion and aggregation(Kennett et al., 2012). Populations expanded during this time andpolities proliferated under these favorable conditions. This wasfollowed by a drying trend �AD 660–1000 and increased climaticvariability that would have periodically reduced agriculturalproductivity and contributed to economic and political instabilityof competing polities. Hierarchical differences within Maya societywere increasingly emphasized in a top-down structure that madethe society more vulnerable to collapse (Scarborough and Burn-side, 2010).

Deforestation and erosion in the Maya lowlands results from acombination of climate drying and forest reduction related toincreased demands for fuel, construction material, and agriculturalland associated with population expansion and aggregation. Pulsesof deforestation and erosion varied spatially during the Preclassicand Classic Periods. Some studies suggest that this was most acuteduring the Late Preclassic Period and continued through the ClassicPeriod (e.g., Peten Lakes; Anselmetti et al., 2007). Other recordsindicate an uptick in deforestation and erosion during the LateClassic (AD 600–900; Cancuen, Beach et al., 2006). At the regionallevel, it appears that erosion accelerated in many locales between1000 BC and AD 250 and again between AD 550 and 900 (Beachet al., 2006). In some cases, this was mitigated with terracesconstructed during the early and late Classic (Murtha, 2002; Beachet al., 2002, 2008; Chase et al., 2011) that helped stabilizelandscapes. Attempts to manage forests may have stabilizedlandscapes in some regions (e.g., Copan, McNeil et al., 2010; but seeAbrams and Rue, 1988; Webster et al., 2000), but climate drying inthe Late Classic would have exacerbated deforestation related topopulation increase and agricultural expansion/intensification(Boserup, 1965). This resulted in lowering the Malthusian ceilingand contributed to increased human suffering and greater variancein well-being amplified during extended drought periods thatundermined the influence and authority of kings. This is supportedby some evidence for a high degree of nutritional stress in somepopulations dating to the Late/Terminal Classic (Copan, Storeyet al., 2002) or a high health burden generally in the Classic Periodwith no clear increase in the Late/Terminal Classic (Pasion region,Wright, 2006). Local attempts to invest in landesque capital (e.g.,terraces and raised fields) were too hit-and-miss to mitigate theseproblems and the transportation networks necessary to subsidizeareas most heavily impacted by environmental degradation anddrought were not sufficient or were compromised by conflict.

The primary response of kings to environmental stress andinstability of the Late Classic (AD 600–900) was to go to war. Therewas an increase in the number of war events recorded on stonemonuments between AD 650 and 900 when compared to theprevious 300 years (Fig. 4). This is also the case when war-eventsare normalized relative to other recorded events (e.g., marriages,accessions, etc., Fig. 4, warfare index; Kennett et al., 2012). Warwas embedded within a broader system of status-rivalry to attractfollowers, a strategy that kings used to build their economic andpolitical base. Alliances were formed between polities andhierarchical relationships developed between centers were morefrequent during the Late Classic (Marcus, 1993; Martin and Grube,1995, 2000), but these larger polities were highly unstable. One


potential explanation for political collapse was the failure ofleaders to find creative ways to maintain network stability eitherthrough hierarchical integration or cooperation (Cioffi-Revilla andLandman, 1999). Instead, kings of the largest polities succumbed toimmediate self-interest and attempted to obtain greater hege-monic control (Scarborough and Burnside, 2010). Polities defeatedin war went into decline and less effort was invested inmaintaining economic and political networks. The frequencyand magnitude of war served to destabilize the sociopolitical andeconomic fabric of the Maya world and, along with environmentaldegradation and drought, further undermined the institution ofkingship.

Finally, we return to the concept of rigidity from resiliencetheory and the character of the classic Maya collapse. Hegmon et al.(2008) compared three societal transformations in the AmericanSouthwest (Mimbres, Hohokam, Mesa Verde) using this conceptand with respect to the scale of demographic change andpopulation displacement, degree of cultural change, and physicalsuffering. They used rigidity measures of integration, hierarchyand conformity and found that more rigidly organized societieswere more prone to severe transformations that involved humansuffering, population decline and displacement, and major culturalchanges (evident in both Mesa Verde and Hohokam cases). Datafrom the Maya region are consistent with these observations. TheMaya collapse was far more severe when compared with theseexamples from the American Southwest. Many more people wereinvolved and there is evidence for sustained conflict and war overseveral centuries. Evidence for declining health in the skeletalrecord is consistent with human suffering and the collapse of eachpolity was associated ultimately with population decline anddispersal. In the Maya case the rigidity trap was imposed largely bythe hierarchical structure of Maya society that was amplified as thelandscape was transformed and impacted during the Classic Period(Scarborough and Burnside, 2010). This came at a time whenenvironmental shocks in the form of decadal-scale droughtsbecame more frequent and severe (Kennett et al., 2012). Even inthe face of these changes the culturally conservative institution ofkingship persisted for centuries, and its rigidity likely contributedto the suppression of innovation in the face of environmentalchange and instability.

6. Concluding remarks

Archeologists and earth scientists provide a unique perspectiveon the cumulative history of anthropogenic environmental changeand its potential for destabilizing our society. Political stability andinternational cooperation are essential for engineering a moresustainable future for our increasingly inter-connected globalcommunity. The most politically unstable countries today are alsoplaces where environmental degradation undermines food pro-duction and human suffering is high. Historically and economicallyimportant linkages with these countries serve to destabilize globaleconomic networks. Both conflict and cooperation are used toshore-up these networks and mitigate these negative effects. In theMaya case, the proliferation of war for political and economic gaincreated a sociopolitical and environmental ‘‘risk spiral’’ (Dunninget al., 2012) that ultimately resulted in the widespread fragmen-tation and asynchronous collapse of polities and ultimately theClassic Period socioeconomic network. The more stable politicalsystems that favored all the trappings of Maya civilization (art,architecture, writing, science) were reduced and reorganized. Inforging the links with this human past, the modern world willrequire creative and adaptive leadership, informed by the successand failure of our predecessors, to provide a way forward as weconfront the unprecedented magnitude of environmental changein the Anthropocene.




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Acknowledgments

Funding for this work was provided by the National ScienceFoundation (HSD-0827305 [Kennett], BCS-0940744 [Kennett]).We thank Jon Erlandson and Todd Braje for inviting us toparticipate in this landmark special issue and for editing ourmanuscript. We also thank David Webster, Keith Prufer, JamesKennett, Valorie Aquino and two anonymous reviewers forvaluable conversations, comments and information that havehelped us improve the manuscript.

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Archeological and environmental lessons for the Anthropocene from the Classic Maya collapse