William folan

Universidad Autonoma De Campeche, Centro de Investigaciones Históricas y Sociales, Emeritus

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From Calakmul to the Sea: The Historical Ecology of a Classic Maya City That Controlled the Candelaria/Champoton Watersheds

The Holocene and Anthropocene Environmental History of Mexico, 2019

The Candelaria River watershed of Campeche, Mexico, and Peten, Guatemala, has shaped millennia of... more The Candelaria River watershed of Campeche, Mexico, and Peten, Guatemala, has shaped millennia of Maya, perhaps from their beginnings and generations of archaeologists. This chapter reviews efforts to understand Candelaria historical ecology over the past four decades, mostly in the northern branch, the Candelaria-El Caribe-Tomatillal system, as it relates to the cities of Calakmul and Uxul. Additional investigations stem from the river system farther north, the Champoton-Desempeño watershed, which also approaches Calakmul at its headwaters. Four other projects (Oxpemul, Yaxnohcah, Naachtun, Uxul) have emerged in the southern branches of the Candelaria and Desempeño in recent years, in addition to a long-standing project at El Mirador. Methods utilized range over global-local climate teleconnections, geology, ethnoecology, soil formation and transformation, geochemistry, pollen, and phytolith sampling. Brief but key statements of results for each method are reported as they contribute to a holistic perspective on the evolution and the death of Calakmul. Key interests that guided the research are the commercial location of the city and watershed in the Maya urban system, the way the watershed shaped the human settlement pattern in the west central Maya Lowlands, the socioecological adaptations over time, and its utility as a middle-level unit of study in links between human and Earth system changes. Finally, a nutrient flow model unifies the results into a concept that may yield deeper insights into the narrative and simulation modelling of Maya social evolution.

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The Political Geography of Long-Distance Exchange in the Elevated Interior Region of the Yucatán Peninsula

The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies, 2020

Understanding how exchange networks vary through time can provide important insights into the nat... more Understanding how exchange networks vary through time can provide important insights into the nature and extent of political control. In the Maya Lowlands, the political and economic spheres of ancient polities tend to overlap because elites sought to administer the movement of goods within their territories. We use data on the distribution of obsidian, jade, ceramics, and other commodities to reconstruct patterns of long-distance trade in the Elevated Interior Region. We suggest possible routes based on least-cost path analysis and integrate them into our analysis of the political economy. Finally, we discuss the relevance of data on long-distance exchange for studying the shifting political organization of the region.

Coba: A Classic Maya Metropolis

An Examination of Settlement Patterns at Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Tikal, Guatemala: A Reply to Arnold and Ford

American Antiquity, 1982

Data from Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico indicate strongly that Arnold and Ford"s (1980) settlem... more Data from Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico indicate strongly that Arnold and Ford"s (1980) settlement pattern analysis of Tikal, Guatemala is the result of an insufficient sample combined with their inability to distinguish between vaulted and unvaulted masonry structures. These deficiencies, together with a standard labor investment calculation for shrines and the use of an invalid measuring technique, have produced a distorted homogenized view of Classic Maya urban organization.

Calakmul: New Data from an Ancient Maya Capital in Campeche, Mexico

Latin American Antiquity, 1995

In this paper we summarize more than a decade of interdisciplinary work at Calakmul, including (1... more In this paper we summarize more than a decade of interdisciplinary work at Calakmul, including (1) the mapping project, which has covered more than 30 km2; (2) the excavation project, which has uncovered major structures and tombs in the center of the city; (3) the epigraphic project, whose goal is to study the hieroglyphic texts and relate them to the archaeological evidence; (4) the analysis of the architecture, ceramics, and chipped stone to define sacred and secular activity areas and chronological stages; and (5) a focus on the ecology, hydrology, and paleoclimatology of Calakmul and its environs with the aim of understanding more fully its periods of development and decline.

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Climate and agricultural history from the Petén Campechano in the Late Holocene Maya lowlands of southern Mexico

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany

Multiple approaches were used to investigate agricultural and forestry practices of the Preclassi... more Multiple approaches were used to investigate agricultural and forestry practices of the Preclassic Maya in the Petén Campechano, southwestern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Palaeoenvironmental inferences were based on pollen and geochemical data from sediment cores collected in lakes Silvituc and Uxul, and the Oxpemul Reservoir. These water bodies are near three archaeological sites that supported agricultural activity between ca. 900 bc and ad 750. After ca. ad 500 the area was under the control of the Kaan Dynasty. These sites show patterns similar to those in sediments from Lake Petén Itzá, northern Guatemala, but they are different from records from the northeastern part of the Peninsula at Lake Chichancanab. Changes in the patterns of abundance, increase and decrease of maize pollen, relative to that of other crops (Cucurbitaceae and Chenopodiaceae) reflect changes with respect to their cultivation and importance. High clay and gypsum content in the sediments may be related to deforestation, agriculture, and intervals of greater rainfall. Changes in sediment elemental concentrations were associated with droughts and human activities during the Classic Period after ad 250. The Classic droughts were more severe and prolonged than those of the Preclassic and thus had a greater impact for inhabitants of the Petén Campechano. This led to a cultural collapse by the seventh century, whereas settlements farther north on the Yucatan Peninsula persisted until the tenth century. Gradually increasing precipitation during the Postclassic (ad 1350-1850), contemporary with the Little Ice Age (LIA), is consistent with the paleoclimate history of the Guatemalan Petén. The response of ecosystems to droughts revealed the water vulnerability of the region and its influence on the sustainability of Maya settlements.

DETECTION OF MAYA <i>SACBEOB</i> (SACBES) USING OPTICAL AND SAR IMAGERY IN NORTHERN PETÉN, MEXICO

The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences

The pre-Contact Maya peoples build roads (Sacbeob) to facilitate movement between and within citi... more The pre-Contact Maya peoples build roads (Sacbeob) to facilitate movement between and within cities and surroundings. Given the dense forest cover in the Lowland Maya region now known as Yucatan, ground surveys of sacbeob are time-consuming and challenging to perform. Remote sensing can be a good alternative as it offers the advantages of extensive regional coverage, zero disturbances to cultural resources, and an opportunity to acquire data in less accessible areas on a cost-effective basis. LiDAR technology is highly valuable to detect man-made structures, but this technology is costly and is time-consuming to acquire data over a large area. Satellite imagery presents an alternative for mapping large areas. Previous studies documented linear features that could represent sections of sacbeob between Calakmul and El Mirador using Landsat-5 TM green, red, and near-infrared images (Folan et al. 1995). This study used Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 optical images having more bands and radar imagery (Sentinel-1 C-VH&VV, and Alos-1 PalSAR L-HH&HV) to connect sacbeob mapped by Folan et al. (1995) between three ancient Maya cities (Calakmul, El Mirador, and Uxul). Our results suggest that radar images with the capacity to penetrate dense forest cover can contribute to the identification and documentation of ancient road systems. Such a study provides an ideal starting point for targeted ground verification.

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Prophet Pariah and Pioneer

Oxpemul, Campeche: an approach to a settlement’s temporality

Estudios De Cultura Maya Vol 37, 2011

Oxpemul, Campeche: un acercamiento a la temporalidad de su asentamiento

Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2011

Las recientes excavaciones realizadas en 20 pozos estratigráficos practicados dentro de un área d... more Las recientes excavaciones realizadas en 20 pozos estratigráficos practicados dentro de un área de 9 km2 alrededor de los grupos principales del asentamiento prehispánico de Oxpemul, en la región del Petén, han revelado importante información respecto a la ocupación del mismo, y evidencian una secuencia cronológica que va del periodo Preclásico Medio al Clásico Tardío. El estudio de dichos materiales proporcionará elementos que permitirán su comparación con otros procedentes de sitios de las regiones de Río Bec y del Petén.

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Society for American Archaeology

American Antiquity

The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology was held on Thursday, Friday, and... more The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology was held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, May 9, 10, and 11, 1968, at the La Fonda Hotel and the Fine Arts Gallery of the Museum of New Mexico, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hosts for the meeting were the Museum of New Mexico, the University of New Mexico, the School of American Research, the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art, the Southwest Region of the National Park Service, and the Institute of American Indian Arts. Official registrants numbered 805, making this the largest meeting the Society has ever held.

On the Trail of Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan: Tracing Mythic Interaction Routes and Networks in the Maya Lowlands

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2016

This paper examines ethnohistoric accounts and oral histories accumulated during the last 50 year... more This paper examines ethnohistoric accounts and oral histories accumulated during the last 50 years concerning the movements of the mythical personage of Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan (Kukul Can) and the role of these narratives in political ideologies between the Epiclassic and Postclassic periods. These narratives outline the movements of Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan by way of terrestrial, celestial, and subterranean routes that connected pilgrimage centers across the Maya lowlands in the peninsula of Yucatan. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric data presented in this paper describe linkages between important political, economic, and ritual centers that had roots in pan-Mesoamerican social dynamics originating as early as the Terminal Classic or Epiclassic period. Links between cities included not just the physical intersite connections evidenced by causeways that are so prominent in the archaeological record but also intangible, mythical, and symbolic connections embodied in mythical histories of sub...

Climate-Change Studies in the Maya Area: A diachronic analysis

The series of papers on climate change published in this issue are the result of the symposium &a... more

An Analysis of Roads Listed in Colonial Dictionaries and Their Relevance to Pre-Hispanic Linear Features in the Yucatan Peninsula

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2001

The archaeological evidence for pre-Columbian roadways in the northern Mayan area is well documen... more The archaeological evidence for pre-Columbian roadways in the northern Mayan area is well documented. These range from broad intracity causeways and long, raised intercity roadways to small local pathways. In the colonial Mayan–Spanish and Spanish–Mayan dictionaries written by Franciscan friars in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries there are various references to roadways. These references were located through a computer-aided search through the dictionaries. Supplementing these references is the information given in various documents written by Franciscan historians, as well as the variety of documents written by the Maya. This information was also located through searches in computerized versions of these documents. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate these references to determine how the information in them can be used to broaden our understanding of Mayan roadways, culture, and society.

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Calakmul as a Central Place: Isotopic Insights on Urban Maya Mobility and Diet During the First Millennium Ad

Latin American Antiquity

Isotopic investigations of human burials from excavations of the Autonomous University of Campech... more Isotopic investigations of human burials from excavations of the Autonomous University of Campeche (CIHS) at the prehispanic Maya capital of Calakmul in southeastern Mexico, near the border with Guatemala, include determination of radiocarbon dates; carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in collagen; and strontium, carbon, and oxygen isotope ratios in tooth enamel. A total of 22 human and 5 faunal samples analyzed for strontium isotopes reveal a narrow range of variation in values, pointing to the likely local origin of over two-thirds of the central population of Calakmul, including two of its rulers. Carbon and nitrogen data confirm a typical Classic Maya diet at the site and identify a diet high in meat consumption for one dynastic individual. Interpreted jointly, the isotopic information offers new perspectives on the provenience and lifestyles of the residents of Calakmul, including a potential place of origin for the royal occupant of chamber tomb Burial VII-1.

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Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico: reporte sobre una metropoli Maya del Noreste

by Susy Peniche and William folan

Boletin De La Escuela De Ciencias Antropologicas De La Universidad De Yucatan, 1978

Social and environmental factors in the Classic Maya Collapse

Population, Development, and …, 2000

1 Social and Environmental Factors in the Classic Maya Collapse William J. Folan, Betty Faust, Wo... more

Calakmul: Power, Perseverance, and Persistence

SpringerBriefs in Archaeology, 2014

According to (Marcus 2004a ), the primary states in the Peten region of the Maya Lowlands include... more According to (Marcus 2004a ), the primary states in the Peten region of the Maya Lowlands include the rise of the Great Cities of Calakmul and Tikal. Of the two, Calakmul is at the center of the Maya Lowlands (Anonymous 1932 ; Stuart and Stuart 2008 ). Calakmul exhibits a massive royal court (Fig. 4.1 ) formed by Temple II, with 56 small rooms on its lower unfi nished façade and Rio Bec style upper façade, structures IVa, b, and c, and Structure VI, the E-Group, and Temple VII. A ball court is situated to the west of the main plaza and Structure III, the Palace is to the east (Folan et al. 2001 ). In addition to Calakmul, this combination of structures is evident in many cities from the Middle Preclassic onward. Examples are Nakbe (Hansen 1991 ), El Mirador to the south (Hansen 1994 ; Matheny and Matheny 2011 ), and Oxpemul (Folan et al. 2000 ) to the north of Calakmul.

8 Calakmul: Agent Risk and Sustainability in the Western Maya Lowlands

Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 2014

ABSTRACT Great attention has been focused on the southern trade routes across the Yucatan Peninsu... more ABSTRACT Great attention has been focused on the southern trade routes across the Yucatan Peninsula through Tikal but little to the potential for crossing through Calakmul further to the north. This chapter shows that a combination of topography and politics make the Calakmul corridor the more efficient transit route. The political turmoil generated by Teotihuacan&#39;s involvement in Lowland trade following C.E. 378 cascaded into centuries of conflict between cities along the Tikal corridor and inhabitants of alternative routes. We trace the evolution of this conflict as influenced by landscape and climate, and decisions of the ambulatory Kaan Dynasty of El Mirador, Dzibanche, Calakmul and finally Calkini. The conflict seems to have played out in the elevated interior of the peninsula, the bone of contention perhaps being control of the Calakmul corridor through the Candelaria River. We suggest there are sufficient parallels between the Calakmul and European Rhône River corridors to draw a productive analogy between two, including that they both fall under the same synoptic climate system. Because the post-Columbian world economic system rose indirectly from the Rhône corridor, the two systems make a good test bed for thinking about the future evolution of the world system. The scale of comparison is rendered feasible by viewing the systems in terms of the scale of information transfer in which they were embedded. We offer three brief examples of how rise and decline of the Calakmul hegemony suggests ways of thinking about the future of the world economic system: warfare, sustainable design, and climate engineering.

Laguna de Términos/Río Candelaria Core: Conditions of Sustainable Urban Occupation in the Interior of the Yucatán Peninsula

Estudios de Cultura Maya, 2012

La búsqueda de un eslabón que sirva de enlace entre el colapso de la civilización maya y el clima... more La búsqueda de un eslabón que sirva de enlace entre el colapso de la civilización maya y el clima ha sido retomada periódicamente durante casi un siglo de estudios. Durante la década de los ochenta, comenzamos a desarrollar un modelo climático, paleoclimático y etnográfico de producción hortícola que ayudaría a sustentar un núcleo de vida urbana en un ambiente fundamentalmente hostil a grandes conjuntos de poblaciones. El objetivo de este estudio consiste en tratar de encontrar las condiciones apropiadas para el éxito de un núcleo de civilización basado en el florecimiento arquitectónico urbano en las cuencas interiores de las Tierras Altas con ambientes adversos. Hemos añadido a esas investigaciones unos conceptos nuevos, combinando lo que sabemos de las ciudades del interior (ya abandonadas) y su medio ambiente, incluyendo en este estudio las zonas bajas de la región con depósitos aluviales cerca de las orillas de los esteros de los ríos. El estudio está basado en la cuenca del r...

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