Kirk D. French

The Hydroarchaeological Method: A Case Study at the Maya Site of Palenque

This research consists mainly of introducing the hydroarchaeological method, especially as related to issues of drought. The article outlines how this multidisciplinary method can provide insights into the success and failures of an archaeolog ical site, in this case the Maya site of Palenque. We also detail convincing evidence that shows that the Maya of Palenque did not leave their city because of deficiencies of water, as some paleoclimatologists and archaeologists have asserted. The first logical step toward understanding any settlement’s water system is to use basic hydrologic methods and theory and to understand the local watershed. There is great potential for watershed-climate modeling in developing plausible scenarios of water use and supply and of the effect of extreme conditions (flood and drought), all of which cannot be fully represented by atmosphere-based climate and weather projections. The research demonstrates how the local watershed, land-use, and ecological conditions interact with regional climate changes. The archaeological implications for this noninvasive “vir tual” method are many, including detecting periods of stress within a community, estimating population by developing caps based on the availability of water, and understanding settlement patterns, as well as assisting present local populations in understanding their water cycle. El objetivo principal de esta investigacion es la introduccion del metodo hidroarqueologico, especialmente en lo relacionado a temas como la sequia. El articulo describe como este metodo multidisciplinario ayuda a entender las causas del exito y fracaso de un sitio arqueologico, en este caso, del sitio maya de Palenque. Tambien detallamos evidencia convincente que muestra que— a diferencia de lo que algunos paleoclimatologos y arqueologos han afirmado— los mayas de Palenque no abandonaron su ciudad debido a escasez de agua. El primer paso logico para entender el sistema hidraulico de cualquier asentamiento es usar la teoria y metodos hidrologicos basicos, y conocer la cuenca hidrologica local. Existe un gran poten cial para los modelos climatologicos-hidrologicos para proporcionar posibles escenarios de uso y abasto de agua, y los efec tos de posibles condiciones extremas (inundacion y sequia), todo lo cual no puede ser representado totalmente mediante pronosticos del tiempo y del clima que se basan en la atmosfera unicamente. Esta investigacion demuestra como interactuan las cuencas locales, el uso de la tierra y las condiciones ecologicas, con los cambios climaticos regionales. Las implica ciones arqueologicas de este metodo no-invasivo “virtual” son muchas, incluyendo: la deteccion de periodos de estres en el interior de una comunidad; la estimacion de la poblacion al disenar topes de crecimiento basados en la disponibilidad de agua; la comprension de los patrones de asentamiento; asi como la asistencia a las poblaciones actuales en la localidad para el entendimiento de su ciclo de agua.

Chert hoes as digging tools

What type of implement was used to cut and move earth in prehistory? In the Mississippian culture at least, the key tool was the stone hoe – formed from a chert blade strapped to a handle. These blades were hoarded and depicted in use, leaving little doubt that they were for digging, in the service of agriculture and extracting earth for building. Drawing on a series of controlled experiments, the authors deduce the capabilities and biographies of the stone hoes, evoking the admirable efforts of the people who constructed the massive mounds of Cahokia.