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The Application Of Pedology, Stable Carbon Isotope Analyses And Geographic Information Systems To Ancient Soil Resource Investigations At Piedras Negras, Guatemala, Kristofer Dee Johnson
The Application Of Pedology, Stable Carbon Isotope Analyses And Geographic Information Systems To Ancient Soil Resource Investigations At Piedras Negras, Guatemala, Kristofer Dee Johnson
Theses and Dissertations
The ancient inhabitants of the Maya Lowlands enjoyed a long and fruitful period of growth which climaxed at around AD 800. At that time, millions of people successfully subsisted in a challenging environment that today only supports a population a fraction of that size. These facts, and the subsequent "Maya Collapse", are the impetus of many recent studies that utilize environmental data, in addition to conventional archaeology, to investigate this Maya mystery. Pedological studies and stable carbon isotope analysis of soil organic matter, combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are three tools that can be used to answer crucial questions …