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Maya Region

The Maya Region is cultural, first order subdivision of Mesoamerica, located in the eastern half of the latter.

Though first settled by Palaeoindians by at least 10,000 BC, it is now most commonly characterised and recognised as the territory which encompassed the Maya civilisation in the pre-Columbian era.

Maya Region
  • Maya Area
  • Maya Realm
Historical region
Map showing the Maya Region of Mesoamerica, with major rivers, mountain ranges, and regions labelled, published 2015 by Simon Burchell.
The Maya Region / major rivers, mountain ranges, and regions labelled / 2015 map by S. Burchell
Maya Region is located in Mesoamerica
Maya Region
Maya Region
Location of the Maya Region in Mesoamerica
Coordinates: 17°27′42″N 89°56′03″W / 17.461691964133248°N 89.93404900225411°W / 17.461691964133248; -89.93404900225411
LocationBelize, Guatemala, western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, southeastern Mexico
Part ofMesoamerica
Area
 • Total125,000 sq mi (320,000 km2)a
Dimensions
 • Length540 mi (870 km)b
 • Width410 mi (660 km)b
Highest elevation13,845 ft (4,220 m)c
(Tajumulco Volcano)
Subdivisions
a cf

b cf

c cf

Extent

The Maya Region is firmly bounded to the north, east, and southwest by the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean, respectively. It is less firmly bounded to the west and southeast by 'zones of cultural interaction and transition between Maya and non-Maya peoples.' The western transition between Maya and non-Maya peoples roughly corresponds to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, while the southeastern one roughly corresponds to a line running northwards from the mouth of the Lempa River to that of the Ulua River.

Divisions

The Maya Region is traditionally divided into three cultural and geographic, first order subdivisions, namely, the Maya Lowlands, Maya Highlands, and the Maya Pacific. The Region's internal borders, like some of its external ones, are not usually precisely fixed, as they are rather demarcated by 'subtle environmental changes or transitions from one zone to another.' Additionally, the Lowlands, Highlands, and Pacific are often further subdivided along similarly imprecise lines, giving rise to a myriad roughly-demarcated second order subdivisions for the Maya Region.

Lowlands

The Maya Lowlands are a low-lying karstic plain stretching from Campeche in Mexico through northern Guatemala and into northwestern Honduras, thereby encompassing all of the Yucatan Peninsula and its abutting plains (including all of Belize). The plain generally lies below 2,625 feet (800 m). Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 77–95 °F (25–35 °C) and 20–120 inches (510–3,050 mm), respectively. Wet seasons range from six to eleven months (usually starting in May or June), with dry seasons ranging from one to six months.

Highlands

The Maya Highlands are a geologically-active east-west band of peaks and valleys stretching from Tabasco in Mexico through central Guatemala and into northwestern Honduras, and generally topping 2,625 feet (800 m). Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 59–77 °F (15–25 °C) and 80–120 inches (2,000–3,000 mm), respectively. Wet seasons typically last eight months (May–December), with dry seasons typically compressed to four (January–April).

Pacific

The Maya Pacific, also known as the Pacific Coastal Plain, is a fertile volcanic-sedimentary plain stretching along the Pacific coast from Chiapas in Mexico through southern Guatemala and into western El Salvador. Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 77–95 °F (25–35 °C) and 80–120 inches (2,000–3,000 mm), respectively. Wet seasons typically last eight months (May–December), with dry seasons typically compressed to four (January–April).

Geography

Physical

The Maya Region is 'one of the most varied environments on earth.' Its terrain ranges from vast sea-level plains to near-inaccessible peaks topping 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Its soils range from rich alluvial and volcanic types to poor karstic ones, resulting in vegetation ranging from lush to sparse. Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 59–95 °F (15–35 °C) and 20–160 inches (500–4,000 mm), respectively. Wet seasons range from six to eleven months, with dry seasons ranging from one to six months. Surface freshwater is readily available year-round in some areas, and virtually absent in others. Nonetheless, broadly speaking, the Region is described as featuring two geographic zones , namely, lowlands and highlands, with the former lying below circa 1,000–2,625 feet (305–800 m), and the latter above. Naturally, lowlands are predominantly found within the Maya Lowlands and Pacific, with highlands generally restricted to the Maya Highlands.

Climate

The Maya Region is generally described as having two climes, a cool, temperate one (prevalent in highlands), and a hot, tropical one (prevalent in lowlands). Each of these experiences two seasons, a wet one, and a dry one. Rainfall in the wet season is usually heaviest during June and October, and is thereby described as 'following a double-peaked distribution.'

Scholars had 'usually assumed that the climatic conditions which now [2010s] prevail in the Maya [Region] have always been the same, all through Maya prehistory and history[; b]ut recent palaeoclimatic research has challenged this assumption, revealing far more climatic fluctuation that previously anticipated.'

Geology

History

Pre-Cenozoic

Middle America, including the Maya Region, is thought to have taken shape sometime after 170 million years ago. Its formation is thought to have 'involved [the] complex movement of [various] crustal blocks and terrains between the two pre-existing continental masses [ie North and South America].' Details of the pre-Cenozoic portion of this process (ie 170–67 million years ago), however, are not widely agreed upon. Nonetheless, it has been proposed that the northern Lowlands were subaerially exposed by some 150 million years ago.

Cenozoic

Details of the Cenozoic (ie 66–0 million years ago) geologic history of Middle America, including the Maya Region, are relatively more widely agreed upon. In broad strokes, the Maya Highlands and Pacific are thought to have been subaerially exposed by some 40 million years ago, with these being initially separated from the northern Lowlands by the incipient Bay of Honduras. The Bay is thought to have closed by at least 20 million years ago, thereby finally linking the northern and southern portions of the Maya Region together.

Timeline

Prominent geologic events in or relevant to the Maya Region.
Start End Unit Epoch Event Notes
165 165 Ma Middle Jurassic Gulf of Mexico seafloor spreading starts inc. exposed northern Lowlands; cf 
144 144 Ma Early Cretaceous Caribbean Sea seafloor spreading starts cf 
120 120 Ma Early Cretaceous Chortis Block subduction into southwestern Mexico stops cf 
65 65 Ma Palaeocene Chicxulub impact cf 
49 49 Ma Eocene Cayman Trough rifting starts cf 
26 20 Ma Oligocene–Miocene Cayman Trough rifting slows down cf 
23 22 Ma Miocene Farallon Plate rifting starts cf 
22 22 Ma Miocene Cocos Plate subduction into Chortis Block starts inc. end of eastwards migration of Chortis Block; inc. possible uplift of Chortis Block; inc. formation of Bay of Honduras ie initial linking of northern and southern portions of the Maya Region; cf 

Morphology

Provinces

The Maya Region is thought to fully or partially encompass at least fourteen geologic provinces.

Geologic provinces within the Maya Region per 21st century literature.
USGS No. Name Location Notes
5308 Yucatan Platform northern Lowlands –
6117 Greater Antilles Deformed Belt offshore Lowlands –
6120 Cayman Trough southern Lowlands –
6125 Maya Mountains central Lowlands –
5305 Villahermosa Uplift western Lowlands –
5306 Macuspana Basin western Lowlands –
5304 Saline–Comalcalco Basin western Lowlands –
5302 Veracruz Basin western Lowlands –
5303 Tuxla Uplift western Lowlands –
5311 Chiapas Massif western Lowlands –
5310 Sierra Madre de Chiapas–Peten Foldbelt southern Lowlands, northern Highlands –
6088 Pacific Offshore Basin Pacific –
6122 Chiapas Massif–Nuclear Central America Highlands –
6087 Choco Pacific Basin Highlands –

Basins

The Maya Region is believed to fully or partially comprehend at least five sedimentary basins.

Sedimentary basins within the Maya Region per 21st century literature.
Evenick ID Name Location Notes
119 Campeche northern Lowlands –
519 Peten–Corozal central Lowlands –
757 Yucatan northern Lowlands –
647 Sureste western Lowlands –
– Limon–Bocas del Toro Pacific, southern Highlands –

Tectonics

The majority of the Maya Region sits on the Maya Block of the North American Plate, though its southernmost extremes extend beyond this crustal fragment into the neighbouring Chortis Block of the Caribbean Plate. The Region notably houses the active Motagua–Polochic Fault Zone in the south, part of the Central American Volcanic Front in the southwest, and further borders the Eastern Mexican Transform to the west.

Stratigraphy

The Maya Region's pre-Mesozoic crystalline basement is only exposed in the Mixtequita or Guichicovi Complex, the Chiapas Massif, the Altos Cuchumatanes, the Maya Mountains, and along the Chicxulub impact crater. It is elsewhere blanketed by extensive Mesozoic sedimentary cover.

Notes and references

Explanatory footnotes

Short citations

Full citations

Print

  1. Adams, Richard E. W.; Macleod, Murdo J., eds. (2000a). Mesoamerica, Part 1. The Cambridge history of the native peoples of the Americas. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521351652. ISBN 9781139053778. S2CID 163512332.
  2. Adams, Richard E. W.; Macleod, Murdo J., eds. (2000b). Mesoamerica, Part 2. The Cambridge history of the native peoples of the Americas. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521652049. ISBN 9781139053464.
  3. Braswell, Geoffrey E., ed. (2022). 3,000 Years of War and Peace in the Maya Lowlands: Identity, Politics, and Violence. Routledge archaeology of the ancient Americas. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781351268004. ISBN 9781351268004. S2CID 246542762.
  4. Bundschuh, Jochen; Alvarado, Guillermo E., eds. (2012) [First published 2007]. Central America: Geology, Resources and Hazards (Reprint of 1st ed.). London: Taylor & Francis. doi:10.1201/9780203947043. ISBN 9780429074370. OCLC 905983675.
  5. Carrasco, Davíd, ed. (2006) [First published 2001]. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilisations of Mexico and Central America (Online reprint of 1st print ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195108156.001.0001. ISBN 9780195188431.
  6. Coe, Michael D.; Houston, Stephen D. (2015) [First published 1966]. The Maya (9th ed.). New York: Thames & Hudson. OCLC 915597000.
  7. Demarest, Arthur A., ed. (2007) [First published 2004]. Ancient Maya: The rise and fall of a rainforest civilization. Case Studies in Early Societies (Reprint of 1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 717693582. OL 3440009M.
  8. Ford, Anabel; Nigh, Ronald (2015). The Maya forest garden: eight millennia of sustainable cultivation of the tropical woodlands. New frontiers in historical ecology. Vol. 6. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. ISBN 9781611329971. OCLC 894750131.
  9. Gómez-Pompa, Arturo; Allen, Michael F.; Fedick, Scott L.; Jiménez-Osornio, Juan J., eds. (2003). The Lowland Maya Area: Three Millennia at the Human-Wildland Interface. Binghamton, NY: Food Products Press. ISBN 1560229705. OCLC 50725221.
  10. Houk, Brett A., ed. (2019). Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya: A Legacy of Human Occupation. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 9780813057347. OCLC 1137019195.
  11. Hutson, Scott R.; Ardren, Traci, eds. (2020). The Maya World. Routledge worlds. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781351029582. ISBN 9781351029582.
  12. Nichols, Deborah L.; Pool, Christopher A., eds. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology. Oxford Handbooks (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-539093-3. OCLC 1109248998.
  13. Sharer, Robert J.; Traxler, Loa P., eds. (2006) [First published 1946]. The Ancient Maya (6th ed.). Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. hdl:2027/mdp.39015062626216. ISBN 9780804748179. OCLC 57577446.

Journals

  1. Bhattacharya, Tripti; Krause, Samantha; Penny, Dan; Wahl, David (27 September 2022). "Progress report: Drought and water management in ancient Maya society". Progress in Physical Geography: 1–16. doi:10.1177/03091333221129784. S2CID 252583845.
  2. Coe, William R. (January 1955). "Early Man in the Maya Area". American Antiquity. 20 (3): 271–273. doi:10.2307/277005. JSTOR 277005.
  3. Creamer, Winifred (1987). "Mesoamerica as a Concept: An Archaeological View from Central America". Latin American Research Review. 22 (1): 35–62. doi:10.1017/S0023879100016423. JSTOR 2503542. S2CID 131671104.
  4. Evenick, J. C. (2021). "Glimpses into Earth's history using a revised global sedimentary basin map". Earth-Science Reviews. article no. 103564. 215 (sn): 103564. Bibcode:2021ESRv..21503564E. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103564. S2CID 233950439.
  5. Franco-Gaviria, Felipe; Caballero-Rodríguez, Dayenari; Correa-Metrio, Alexander; Pérez, Liseth; Schwalb, Antje; Cohuo, Sergio; Macario-González, Laura (April 2018). "The human impact imprint on modern pollen spectra of the Maya lands". Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana. 70 (1): 61–78. doi:10.18268/bsgm2018v70n1a4.
  6. Glover, Jeffrey B.; Rissolo, Dominique; Beddows, Patricia A.; Jaijel, Roy; Smith, Derek; Goodman-Tchernov, Beverly (9 June 2022). "The Proyecto Costa Escondida: Historical ecology and the study of past coastal landscapes in the Maya area". The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology: 1–20. doi:10.1080/15564894.2022.2061652.
  7. Gunn, Joel D.; Matheny, Ray T.; Folan, William J. (14 August 2002). "Climate-change Studies in the Maya Area: A diachronic analysis". Ancient Mesoamerica. 13 (1): 79–84. doi:10.1017/S0956536102131105. S2CID 29468376.
  8. Hartlett, Harley Harris (January 1932). "A Biological Survey of the Maya Area". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 59 (1): 7–20. doi:10.2307/2480459. JSTOR 2480459.
  9. Hodell, David A.; Quinn, Rhonda L.; Brenner, Mark; Kamenov, George (May 2004). "Spatial variation of strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) in the Maya region: a tool for tracking ancient human migration". Journal of Archaeological Science. 31 (5): 585–601. Bibcode:2004JArSc..31..585H. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2003.10.009.
  10. Kennett, Douglas J.; Lipson, Mark; Prufer, Keith M.; Mora-Marín, David; George, Richard J.; Rohland, Nadin Rohland; Robinson, Mark; Trask, Willa R.; Edgar, Heather H. J.; Hill, Ethan C.; Ray, Erin E.; Lynch, Paige; Moes, Emily; O'Donnell, Lexi; Harper, Thomas K.; Kate, Emily J.; Ramos, Josue; Morris, John; Gutierrez, Said M.; Ryan, Timothy M.; Culleton, Brendan J.; Awe, Jaime J.; Reich, David (22 March 2022). "South-to-north migration preceded the advent of intensive farming in the Maya region". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 1–10 of article no. 1530. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.1530K. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29158-y. PMC 8940966. PMID 35318319. S2CID 247617021.
  11. Kuil, Linda; Carr, Gemma; Prskawetz, Alexia; Salinas, José Luis; Viglione, Alberto; Blöschl, Günter (March 2019). "Learning from the Ancient Maya: Exploring the Impact of Drought on Population Dynamics". Ecological Economics. 157: 1–16. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.10.018. S2CID 53700665.
  12. Lohse, Jon C.; Morgan, Molly; Jones, John G.; Brenner, Mark; Curtis, Jason; Hamilton, W. Derek; Cardona, Karla (10 August 2022). "Early Maize in the Maya Area". Latin American Antiquity. 33 (4): 1–16 of FirstView articles. doi:10.1017/laq.2022.55. S2CID 251506698.
  13. Nooren, Kees; Hoek, Wim Z.; Dermody, Brian J.; Galop, Didier; Metcalfe, Sarah; Islebe, Gerald; Middelkoop, Hans (20 August 2018). "Climate impact on the development of Pre-Classic Maya civilisation". Climate of the Past. 14 (8): 1253–1273. Bibcode:2018CliPa..14.1253N. doi:10.5194/cp-14-1253-2018. S2CID 55370409.
  14. Ross, C. H.; Stockli, D. F.; Rasmussen, C.; Gulick, S. P. S.; Graaff, S. J.; Claeys, P.; Zhao, J. (2021). "Evidence of Carboniferous arc magmatism preserved in the Chicxulub impact structure". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 134 (1–2): 241–260. doi:10.1130/B35831.1. hdl:10044/1/99016. S2CID 238043996.
  15. Sharpe, Ashley E.; Emery, Kitty F.; Inomata, Takeshi; Krigbaum, John (19 March 2018). "Earliest isotopic evidence in the Maya region for animal management and long-distance trade at the site of Ceibal, Guatemala". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (14): 3605–3610. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115.3605S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1713880115. PMC 5889628. PMID 29555750.
  16. Sharpe, Ashley E.; Kamenov, George D.; Gilli, Adrian; Hodell, David L.; Emery, Kitty F.; Brenner, Mark; Krigbaum, John (2 November 2016). "Lead (Pb) Isotope Baselines for Studies of Ancient Human Migration and Trade in the Maya Region". PLOS ONE. 11 (11): 1–28 of article no. e0164871. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1164871S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164871. PMC 5091867. PMID 27806065.
  17. Scherer, Andrew K.; de Carteret, Alyce; Newman, Sarah (June 2015). "Local water resource variability and oxygen isotopic reconstructions of mobility: A case study from the Maya area". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 2: 666–676. Bibcode:2015JArSR...2..666S. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2014.11.006.
  18. Thornton, Ern Kennedy; Emery, Kitty F.; Steadman, David W.; Speller, Camilla; Matheny, Ray; Yang, Dongya (8 August 2012). "Earliest Mexican turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya region; implications for pre-Hispanic animal trade and the timing of turkey domestication". PLOS ONE. 7 (8): 1–8 of article no. e42630. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...742630T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042630. PMC 3414452. PMID 22905156.
  19. Wrobel, Gabriel D.; Hoggarth, Julie A.; Marshall, Aubree (14 December 2021). "Before the Maya: A Review of Paleoindian and Archaic Human Skeletons Found in the Maya Region". Ancient Mesoamerica. 32 (3): 475–485. doi:10.1017/S0956536121000250. S2CID 245125288.

Theses

  1. Duarte, Edward Fernando (2022). Hydroclimate variability in Central America during the Holocene inferred from lacustrine sediments in Lake Izabal, eastern Guatemala (PhD Thesis). Missouri University of Science and Technology.
  2. Harvey, William James (March 2019). The Central American Isthmus: ecological dynamics of the middle-late Holocene (DPhil Thesis). University of Oxford.
  3. Martens, Uwe (2009). Geologic evolution of the Maya Block (southern edge of the North American plate): An example of terrane transferral and crustal recycling (PhD Thesis). Stanford University. ProQuest 304999167.

Other

  1. Ahmad, S. S.; Escalona, A. (June 2014). "Paleogeographic Reconstruction of Northern Caribbean Region from Late Cretaceous to Recent". Conference Proceedings, 76th EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2014, Jun 2014, Volume 2014. European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers. pp. 1–3. doi:10.3997/2214-4609.20141659. hdl:11250/224374.
  2. DTM (June 2013). Deep Time Maps North America Key Time Slices (Map). 1:1,000,000. Sedona, AZ: Colorado Plateau Geosystems.
  3. French, C. D.; Schenk, C. J. (2004). Map showing geology, oil and gas fields, and geologic provinces of the Caribbean Region (Map). 1:2,500,000. Open-File Report 97-470-K. Reston, Virg.: U.S. Geological Survey. doi:10.3133/ofr97470K.
  4. French, C. D.; Schenk, C. J. (2006). Map showing geology, oil and gas fields, and geologic provinces of the Gulf of Mexico region (Map). 1:2,500,000. Open-File Report 97-470-L. Reston, Virg.: U.S. Geological Survey. doi:10.3133/ofr97470L.
  5. Goldberg, Maren (17 January 2008). "Tajumulco Volcano". Britannica Academic. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopædia Britannica. Britannica ID place/Tajumulco-Volcano.

Tags:

Maya Region ExtentMaya Region DivisionsMaya Region GeographyMaya Region ClimateMaya Region GeologyMaya Region Notes and referencesMaya Region

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