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Judi Lynn

(160,211 posts)
Tue Jul 17, 2012, 04:07 AM Jul 2012

Largest Ancient Dam Built by Maya in Central America

Largest Ancient Dam Built by Maya in Central America



ScienceDaily (July 16, 2012) — Recent excavations, sediment coring and mapping by a multi-university team led by the University of Cincinnati at the pre-Columbian city of Tikal, a paramount urban center of the ancient Maya, have identified new landscaping and engineering feats, including the largest ancient dam built by the Maya of Central America.

That dam -- constructed from cut stone, rubble and earth -- stretched more than 260 feet in length, stood about 33 feet high and held about 20 million gallons of water in a human-made reservoir.

These findings on ancient Maya water and land-use systems at Tikal, located in northern Guatemala, are scheduled to appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in an article titled "Water and Sustainable Land Use at the Ancient Tropical City of Tikal, Guatemala." The research sheds new light on how the Maya conserved and used their natural resources to support a populous, highly complex society for over 1,500 years despite environmental challenges, including periodic drought.

~snip~

Detailed in the latest findings by the UC-led efforts are


•The largest ancient dam built by the ancient Maya of Central America
•Discussion on how reservoir waters were likely released
•Details on the construction of a cofferdam needed by the Maya to dredge one of the largest reservoirs at Tikal
•The presence of ancient springs linked to the initial colonization of Tikal
•Use of sand filtration to cleanse water entering reservoirs
•A "switching station" that accommodated seasonal filling and release of water
•Finding of the deepest, rock-cut canal segment in the Maya lowlands

More:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120716191443.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
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Largest Ancient Dam Built by Maya in Central America (Original Post) Judi Lynn Jul 2012 OP
Tikal was an interesting place back in 1990. We had to hire a driver at the Guatemala sinkingfeeling Jul 2012 #1
Tikal in 2012 was still amazing but facilities are better. SharonAnn Jul 2012 #2
Incredible. Makes me wonder what more we could have known about these people gtar100 Jul 2012 #3

sinkingfeeling

(51,274 posts)
1. Tikal was an interesting place back in 1990. We had to hire a driver at the Guatemala
Tue Jul 17, 2012, 03:38 PM
Jul 2012

Last edited Tue Jul 17, 2012, 04:40 PM - Edit history (1)

border since they wouldn't let us take our Mexican rental car into their country. We spoke no Spanish and Raoul spoke no English. He had to pay bribes or tolls to travel the muddy, rutted road. We had to pause to let cattle pass and armed patrols. We stayed in the park at the lodge with no hot water and electricity after 8PM. You were truly out in the jungle without anybody to guide you or help you. We climbed all over and paid some little boys to lead us to the highest temples. It was wonderful.

SharonAnn

(13,766 posts)
2. Tikal in 2012 was still amazing but facilities are better.
Tue Jul 17, 2012, 09:45 PM
Jul 2012

The Jungle Lodge Hotel and Cabins no longer has a lights out time. The restaurant is great and we played cards in the lounge until 11 PM.

They have various guides available to take you on tours. Since it is such an enormous place, not everyone wants to see it all. For example, my roommate decided to get up before dawn and take a guided walk to see the sun rise over the Tikal monuments and to see and hear the howling monkeys at dawn. I passed on that and slept in.

gtar100

(4,192 posts)
3. Incredible. Makes me wonder what more we could have known about these people
Wed Jul 18, 2012, 03:28 AM
Jul 2012

had the Spanish not come in and decimated all native cultures they happened upon. It's part of the price we still pay for the the European arrogance of that time period. Tragic.

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