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The Pre-Hispanic Maya Reservoir System at Kinal, Peten, Guatemala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Vernon L. Scarborough ,
Robert P. Connolly  and
Steven P. Ross
Vernon L. Scarborough
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Robert P. Connolly
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Steven P. Ross
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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Abstract

The southern Lowland Maya hilltop center of Kinal is shown to be a human-modified watershed. The broad paved surfaces of the elevated central precinct acted as runoff-catchment areas directing precipitation into gravity-fed channels and reservoirs. In a geographical zone affected by an extended dry season and away from permanent water sources, Kinal demonstrates the components of a rainfall-dependent water-management system characteristic of other large sites in the region.

Type
Special Section: Classic Maya Landscape Archaelogy
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , Spring 1994 , pp. 97 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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