3 research outputs found
Ictioarqueología del Mundo Maya: evaluando la pesca prehispánica (250-1550 d.C) de las Tierras Bajas del Norte
Tesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología. Fecha de lectura: 23-06-2017Esta Tesis representa el primer estudio sistemático sobre la
Ictioarqueología Maya y resulta una aportación fundamental para evaluar las prácticas
pesqueras prehispánicas, así como el uso y consumo de los peces desde una perspectiva
interdisciplinar con implicaciones teóricas y metodológicas de índole biológico y
arqueológico. Los análisis ictioarqueológicos efectuados en asentamientos de los períodos
Clásico (250-900 d.C) y Postclásico (900-1450 d.C) arrojaron datos que invitan a replantear
los paradigmas tradicionales sobre la pesca del mundo Maya. Desde una perspectiva
cultural, los datos obtenidos apuntan a revisar las propuestas sobre el procesado de peces
óseos en sitios costeros y su transporte para su consumo en sitios interiores; mientras que
se perfila el comercio de dientes de tiburones y espinas de rayas desde las costas hacia los
sitios del interior con fines rituales.
En un ámbito ecológico el registro ictiofaunístico reflejó cambios en las costas de
las Tierras Bajas del Norte entre los períodos Clásico y Postclásico. Las pesquerías de la
costa del Golfo, en el norte de Yucatán, se caracterizaron por tener valores tróficos
globales elevados durante el Clásico y valores reducidos durante el Postclásico, mientas que
en la costa del Caribe este patrón es inverso. Así, las pesquerías de la costa del Golfo de
México se vieron posiblemente afectadas ante las sequías reportadas en la región, entre el
800 y 1000 d.C, propiciando el aumento de fondos lodosos y fangosos en los estuarios
desde el inicio del Postclásico. Mientras que las costas del Caribe mostraron afectaciones
ecológicas que podrían rastrearse desde el Clásico y que posteriormente apuntarían a una
recuperación durante el Postclásico. Estos datos dejan en evidencia que la aparente
estabilidad ecológica del norte de Yucatán es cuestionable e incluso nos hace replantearnos
las razones del abandono de los sitios costeros del norte de Yucatán hacia el Clásico
Terminal. Además, se registra la presencia prehispánica de peces cuya distribución actual
no incluye a las costas mayas y se sugiere que la intensificación pesquera de tiburones
podría rastrearse desde el período Clásico. Todo ello, en conjunto, nos indica que las
condiciones de las costas distaban mucho de las condiciones actuales.
Los resultados obtenidos en esta Tesis representan un marco de referencia con el
cual entender desde la arqueología e ictioarqueología las implicaciones de la pesca maya
prehispánica, así como para ofrecer un registro cronológicamente amplio que contribuya al
conocimiento de los cambios históricos de las pesquerías actuales.
PALABRAS CLAVE: ÁREA MAYA, GOLFO DE MÉXICO, MAR CARIBE,
CLÁSICO, POSTCLÁSICO, ICTIOFAUNA, ICTIOARQUEOLOGÍA,
OSTEOMETRÍA, MORFOTIPOLOGÍA, PESCA, BIOINDICACIÓN,
INTENSIFICACIÓN, PALEOECOLOGÍA.This thesis represents the first systematic study on Maya
ictihoarcheology and it is a fundamental contribution to evaluate the pre- Hispanic fishing
practices, as well as fish use and consumption from an interdisciplinary perspective that
includes theoretical and methodological implication from both biological and
archaeological perspectives. The ichthyoarchaeological analyses conducted on Classic (250-
900 AD) and Postclassic (900-1450 d.C) settlements produced data that invite us to rethink
the traditional paradigms on fishing at the Maya world. From a cultural perspective, the
data obtained aim to review the proposed bony-fishes processing at coastal sites and their
transportation for later consumption at inland sites; while the trade of sharks' teeth and ray
spines from the coasts to inland settlements for ritual purposes is confirmed.
In an ecological scope the ichthyofaunistic record reflected environmental changes
along the Northern Lowlands coasts between the Classic and Postclassic periods. Fisheries
on the Gulf Coast on northern Yucatan were characterized by high global trophic values
during the Classic and reduced values during the Postclassic period, while on the Caribbean
coast this pattern is reversed. The fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico coast were likely affected
by the droughts reported in the region, between 800 and 1000 d.C, favoring the
proliferation of muddy bottoms in the estuaries from the beginning of the Postclassic. On
the other hand, the Caribbean fisheries exhibited environmental affections that could be
traced since the Classic period while possible recovery during the Postclassic is also
recorded. These data exhibit that the apparent ecological stability along the northern
Yucatan coasts is questionable and it even makes us rethink the reasons for the
abandonment of the coastal sites of northern Yucatan towards the Terminal Classic. In
addition, it is also recorded the pre-Hispanic presence of fishes whose current distribution
does not include the Mayan coast and it is proposed that the intensification of shark
fisheries could be traced back to the Classic period. All this evidence indicates that the
ecological conditions of the coasts were far different from the current coastal scenario.
The results obtained in this thesis represent a frame of reference for the
ichthyoarchaeological and archaeological implications of pre-Hispanic Mayan fisheries. The
results also offer a chronologically wide record that contributes to increase the knowledge
of historical changes on modern fisheries.
KEY WORDS: MAYA AREA, GULF OF MÉXICO, CARIBBEAN SEA,
CLASSIC, POSTCLASSIC, ICHTHYOFAUNA, ICHTYOARCHAEOLOGY,
OSTEOMETRY, MORFOTIPOLOGY, FISHING, BIOINDICATION,
INTENSIFICATION, PALAEOECOLOGY
Archaeological assessment reveals Earth’s early transformation through land use
Humans began to leave lasting impacts on Earth's surface starting 10,000 to 8000 years ago. Through a synthetic collaboration with archaeologists around the globe, Stephens et al. compiled a comprehensive picture of the trajectory of human land use worldwide during the Holocene (see the Perspective by Roberts). Hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists transformed the face of Earth earlier and to a greater extent than has been widely appreciated, a transformation that was essentially global by 3000 years before the present.Science, this issue p. 897; see also p. 865Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon
Archaeological assessment reveals Earth's early transformation through land use
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon