Water Resources
The area the ancient Maya lived in (and still do today) has few natural water resources. As such there was a need to adapt. The Maya became accustomed to a cycle, every year from January to May, in which there was a period of aridity. (Lucero, 2002.) To counter-act this cycle the Maya needed to be able to store water during times of rainfall. During the Classic Period (250-900 AD), Maya rulers called for the building of reservoirs and chultuns. Chultuns are flask shaped holes in the ground, that are lined with clay bricks and then fired. They were built in places cenotes were not available. Cenotes are naturally occurring sinkholes that allow groundwater to come to the surface. (Scarbrough and Gallopin, 1991.)
The Centralization of Water
The scarcity of water resources allowed for a greater movement of people into the cities. After experiencing an arid period longer than the average four to five months, populations rose as stability was sought. In places like Tikal, temples were constructed in the form of mountains. Rain would fall from the sky, and run down the sides of the mountain eventually ending up in one of the five reservoirs at the bottom. (Scarborough, 1998.) Maya rulers were in control of the sluice gates that fed the run-off water into the different reservoirs. As less rain fell from the sky, less water ran into the reservoirs, and the high population of Tikal could no longer be sustained. In addition, it was only the ruling elite who knew the rituals to bring rain. Performing the rituals but not bringing rain may have caused the Maya people to question the credibility of their rulers. (Lucero, 2002.)
What did water have to do with it?
Water management on its own was not a problem for the Maya. The centralization of water allowed for better control of a scarce resource. However, their dependence on the rainfall outside of the reoccurring periods of aridity left them vulnerable to the changes in climate. Combined with the loss of elite goods and a method of agriculture that was not reliable for the population increase that occurred, water management proved to be more of a challenge than the Maya predicted.
Image Sourced
Scarborough, Vernon L. “Ecology and Ritual: Water Management and the Maya.” Latin American Antiquity 9, no. 2 (Jun 1998). http://www.jstor.org/stable/971991 (accessed Dec. 7, 2013)
Works Cited
Lucero, Lisa J. “The Collapse of the Classic Maya: A Case for the Role of Water Control.” American Anthropologist 104 no. 3 (Sep 2002). http://www.jstor.org/stable/3567259 (accessed Oct. 27, 2013)
Scarborough, Vernon L. “Ecology and Ritual: Water Management and the Maya.” Latin American Antiquity 9, no. 2 (Jun 1998). http://www.jstor.org/stable/971991 (accessed Oct. 27, 2013)
Scarborough, Vernon L. and Gary G. Gallopin. “ A Water Storage Adaptation in the Maya Lowlands.” Science 251 no. 4994 (Feb 1991). http://www.jstor.org/stable/2875003 (accessed Oct. 27, 2013)
Scarborough, Vernon L. “Ecology and Ritual: Water Management and the Maya.” Latin American Antiquity 9, no. 2 (Jun 1998). http://www.jstor.org/stable/971991 (accessed Dec. 7, 2013)
Works Cited
Lucero, Lisa J. “The Collapse of the Classic Maya: A Case for the Role of Water Control.” American Anthropologist 104 no. 3 (Sep 2002). http://www.jstor.org/stable/3567259 (accessed Oct. 27, 2013)
Scarborough, Vernon L. “Ecology and Ritual: Water Management and the Maya.” Latin American Antiquity 9, no. 2 (Jun 1998). http://www.jstor.org/stable/971991 (accessed Oct. 27, 2013)
Scarborough, Vernon L. and Gary G. Gallopin. “ A Water Storage Adaptation in the Maya Lowlands.” Science 251 no. 4994 (Feb 1991). http://www.jstor.org/stable/2875003 (accessed Oct. 27, 2013)