Preclassic environmental degradation of Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, by the early Maya of Nixtun-Ch’ich’

Brooke A. Birkett; Jonathan Obrist-Farner; Prudence M. Rice; Wesley G. Parker; Peter M. J. Douglas; Melissa A. Berke; Audrey K. Taylor; Jason H. Curtis; Benjamin Keenan

doi:10.1038/s43247-023-00726-4

Communications Earth & Environment (Mar 2023)

Preclassic environmental degradation of Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, by the early Maya of Nixtun-Ch’ich’

Brooke A. Birkett,
Jonathan Obrist-Farner,
Prudence M. Rice,
Wesley G. Parker,
Peter M. J. Douglas,
Melissa A. Berke,
Audrey K. Taylor,
Jason H. Curtis,
Benjamin Keenan

Affiliations

Brooke A. Birkett: Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Department, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Jonathan Obrist-Farner: Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Department, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Prudence M. Rice: Department of Anthropology (emerita), Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Wesley G. Parker: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Geotop Research Center, McGill University
Peter M. J. Douglas: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Geotop Research Center, McGill University
Melissa A. Berke: Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences Department, University of Notre Dame
Audrey K. Taylor: Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences Department, University of Notre Dame
Jason H. Curtis: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida
Benjamin Keenan: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Geotop Research Center, McGill University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00726-4
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

Read online

Several organic geochemical proxies within a sediment core from Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, suggest intense human-induced degradation of the aquatic environment during the Maya Preclassic period from around 700 BCE to 200 CE

Published in Communications Earth & Environment

ISSN: 2662-4435 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Geology; Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.nature.com/commsenv/

About the journal