Escuela de Historia

La investigación arqueológica en el Bajo La Justa entre los sitios de Yaxha y Nakum, es parte del Subproyecto Intersitios del Proyecto Triángulo del Instituto de Antropología e Historia (IDAEH). El principal objetivo de la investigación es el de estudiar el uso que dieron los antiguos Mayas al bajo. Los tres aspectos mayores de la investigación incluyen: 1) estudiar la variabilidad microecológica dentro del bajo; 2) buscar indicadores arqueológicos de modificación humana a los bajos y 3) investigar los sitios dentro y en las orillas del bajo.

Entre los monumentos recientemente recuperados o registrados por el Proyecto Izapa (DICPA-INAH), el más notable es la Estela 90, siguiendo la nomenclatura establecida , la que debe su descubrimiento al custodio del Grupo B de Izapa, Sr. David Tercero Méndez, quien la reportó el 16 de noviembre de 1992. Actualmente el monumento se encuentra en exhibición en el Museo Regional del Soconusco (INAH) en Tapachula.

Tikal, a major city of the ancient Maya world, has been the focus of archaeological research for over a century, yet the interactions between the Maya and the surrounding Neotropical forests remain largely enigmatic. This study aimed to help fill that void by using a powerful new technology, environmental DNA analysis, that enabled us to characterize the site core vegetation growing in association with the artificial reservoirs that provided the city water supply. Because the area has no permanent water sources, such as lakes or rivers, these reservoirs were key to the survival of the city, especially during the population expansion of the Classic period (250–850 CE). In the absence of specific evidence, the nature of the vegetation surrounding the reservoirs has been the subject of scientific hypotheses and artistic renderings for decades. To address these hypotheses we captured homologous sequences of vascular plant DNA extracted from reservoir sediments by using a targeted enrich...

Historia de dos colapsos: Variabilidad ambiental e interrupción cultural en las tierras bajas mayas nicholas p. dunning a , timothy beach b , liwy Grasiozo sierra c , john G. jones d , david l. lentz e , sheryl luzzadder-beach f , Vernon l. scarborough g , michael p. smyth h An expanding array of data is becoming available on past climate changes affecting the Maya Lowlands region. We examine the strengths and weaknesses of these data sets, both in terms of identifying general trends and specific events. We then use these data to develop a model based on adaptive cycles that addresses both environmental and cultural changes that occurred in the Terminal Preclassic and the Terminal Classic periods in several areas of the Maya Lowlands. In particular, we compare the variable experiences and trajectories of several ancient communities located in the elevated interior region with others situated on lower elevation coastal plains. In general, communities in lower elevation areas proved more resilient to environmental and cultural perturbations than those in the higher elevation interior.

Understanding civilizations of the past and how they emerge and eventually falter is a primary research focus of archaeological investigations because these provocative data sets offer critical insights into long-term human behavior patterns, especially in regard to land use practices and sustainable environmental interactions. The ancient Maya serve as an intriguing example of this research focus, yet the details of their spectacular emergence in a tropical forest environment followed by their eventual demise have remained enigmatic. Tikal, one of the foremost of the ancient Maya cities, plays a central role in this discussion because of its sharp population decline followed by abandonment during the late 9th century CE. Our results, based on geochemical and molecular genetic assays on sediments from four of the main reservoirs, reveal that two of the largest reservoirs at Tikal, essential for the survival of the city during the dry seasons, were contaminated with high levels of me...

Over the time span of more than a millennium, the ancient Maya polity of Tikal went through periods of growth, reorganization and adaptive cycles of various connected scales. Recent data show that following the reorganization of the Late Preclassic period, Tikal experienced an extended period of technological innovation and population growth that eventually stretched the carrying capacity of the available landscape. A hydraulic system was constructed that provided water for the community during the dry seasons: a powerful development in an area without a permanent water source. Agriculture was intensified using a combination of root crop agriculture, irrigated fields, arboriculture, household gardens, short fallow cropping systems and bajo margin cultivation. The net product of these diverse production activities helped to underwrite an enormous amassing of economic and political capital during the Late Classic period. Ultimately, in the mid-9th century CE, expansive growth combined with multiple system disturbances led to a collapse of the city's social structure followed by abandonment of the site. The application of resilience theory as a conceptual framework is useful in helping to interpret the complex web of the underlying social and ecological domains that contributed to Tikal's demise.

Tikal, a major city of the ancient Maya world, has been the focus of archaeological research for over a century, yet the interactions between the Maya and the surrounding Neotropical forests remain largely enigmatic. This study aimed to help fill that void by using a powerful new technology, environmental DNA analysis, that enabled us to characterize the site core vegetation growing in association with the artificial reservoirs that provided the city water supply. Because the area has no permanent water sources, such as lakes or rivers, these reservoirs were key to the survival of the city, especially during the population expansion of the Classic period (250–850 CE). In the absence of specific evidence, the nature of the vegetation surrounding the reservoirs has been the subject of scientific hypotheses and artistic renderings for decades. To address these hypotheses we captured homologous sequences of vascular plant DNA extracted from reservoir sediments by using a targeted enrich...

The constructions found at the site allow for the establishing of architectural trends and building techniques for each period and its evolution. The development of architectural concepts formed in mud with a layer of boulders, characteristic of the Pacific coastal region, is linked to the cultural changes that mark the site's history and offers interesting ideas for sites beyond this one.

El Programa de Evaluación, Inventario y Diagnóstico de Kaminaljuyu surge como un apoyo por parte de cinco estudiantes de la Universidad de San Carlos al IDAEH, siendo el propósito recabar información sobre la condición del sitio para el año 2002, la cual ayudará a tomar las medidas necesarias para su protección.

Modern Archaeology includes the conservation and protection of the cultural patrimony as on of the main tasks. Under this approach, the elaboration of replicas, which has been considered as an independent activity from the investigation, is a tool of great support in this field. In this paper the techniques used by the National Tak'alik Ab'aj Project today will be presented, and it's application in specific cases and non traditional situations, that show the convenience of including the elaboration of a high quality copy in the strategies of research and conservation.

Desde finales del siglo XIX hasta la fecha, se han realizado diversas investigaciones en el área de Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa, departamento de Escuintla. Gracias a estos trabajos se cuenta con información sobre la región en materias como cerámica, escultura, cronología y patrón de asentamiento entre otras. Sin embargo aún existen vacíos que deben ser estudiados.