HOUSEHOLDERS AS WATER MANAGERS: A COMPARISON OF DOMESTIC-SCALE WATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FROM TWO CENTRAL MAYA LOWLAND SITES

Abstract

AbstractMultiple studies conducted over the past few decades have recognized the necessity of rainwater collection and storage as a critical aspect in the evolution of Maya civilization. Few of these efforts, however, have emphasized the importance of managing water resources at the household level. Data are presented from two central lowland sites—the dispersed hinterland community of Medicinal Trail and the urban center of Yaxnohcah—that elucidate the function of small reservoirs and associated landscape modifications in residential water management. Despite differing physical geographies and trajectories of urban development, residents of both communities were clearly engaged in water management activities based, at least in part, on the creation and use of small reservoirs. Decentralized household water management practices appear to have been temporally and spatially widespread components of Maya civilization beginning in the Preclassic period.