Abstract
The application of lidar remote-sensing technology has revolutionized the practice of settlement and landscape archaeology, perhaps nowhere more so than in the Maya lowlands. This contribution presents a substantial lidar dataset from the Puuc region of Yucatan, Mexico, a cultural subregion of the ancient Maya and a distinct physiographic zone within the Yucatan peninsula. Despite the high density of known sites, no large site has been fully surveyed, and little is known about intersite demography. Lidar technology allows determination of settlement distribution for the first time, showing that population was elevated but nucleated, although without any evidence of defensive features. Population estimates suggest a region among the most densely settled within the Maya lowlands, though hinterland levels are modest. Lacking natural bodies of surface water, the ancient Puuc inhabitants relied upon various storage technologies, primarily chultuns (cisterns) and aguadas (natural or modified reservoirs for potable water). Both are visible in the lidar imagery, allowing calculation of aguada capacities by means of GIS software. The imagery also demonstrates an intensive and widespread stone working industry. Ovens visible in the imagery were probably used for the production of lime, used for construction purposes and perhaps also as a softening agent for maize. Quarries can also be discerned, including in some cases substantial portions of entire hills. With respect to agriculture, terrain classification permits identification of patches of prime cultivable land and calculation of their extents. Lidar imagery also provides the first unequivocal evidence for terracing in the Puuc, indeed in all northern Yucatan. Finally, several types of civic architecture and architectural complexes are visible, including four large acropolises probably dating to the Middle Formative period (700–450 B.C.). Later instances of civic architecture include numerous Early Puuc Civic Complexes, suggesting a common form of civic organization at the beginning of the Late Classic demographic surge, (A.D. 600–750).
Highlights
Since the pioneering explorations of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in the 1840s [1], the Puuc has been recognized as a regional variant of ancient Maya civilization, primarily on the basis of a common architectural style (Fig 1)
The Puuc is a distinct physiographic zone of the Yucatan peninsula, whose northern limit is marked by a low escarpment known as the Sierrita de Ticul, a ridge of hills rarely more than 110–120 m above the plains to the north (Fig 3)
Bordering the de Bolonchen (DBC) to the south is a zone of seasonal swamps whose archaeology is understudied [10]
Summary
Since the pioneering explorations of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in the 1840s [1], the Puuc has been recognized as a regional variant of ancient Maya civilization, primarily on the basis of a common architectural style (Fig 1). Often the swales between higher ground are filled with soil, resulting in the formation of “flats” of relatively deep soils that are today favored for agriculture (referred to as planadas ) This zone widens from east to west and is known as the Valle de Sta. Elena, after the largest town within it. A dense zone of kegelkarst or conekarst hills (Duch Gary’s lomerío alto con llanuras), known as the Distrito de Bolonchen (DBC), lies to the south of the VSE. Thousands of such hills divide the landscape, they hardly ever rise more than 90 m above the surrounding terrain. It is important to note that there are basins of varying sizes and uplifted areas bordering them in each of these broad zones, and that soil cover in uplifted areas is usually relatively shallow, enhancing the visibility of archaeological features
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