Search Results (29)

This article adopts a comparative mythology framework in order to situate creation myths within a broad cultural context. It examines how different societies conceptualize the emergence of the universe through the interconnected notions of thought and word. The study demonstrates that, despite cultural diversity, these narratives articulate shared principles concerning the mental and linguistic foundations of existence while preserving tradition-specific expressions. The analysis is based on qualitative content analysis of primary mythological texts drawn from Hindu, Maori, Maya, Maiana, Dogon, Polynesian, Ancient Egyptian, and Turkish traditions, encompassing sources ranging from the Rig Veda and the Popol Vuh to the theology of Ptah and Dogon doctrines of word-based creation. These materials were examined through hermeneutic reading practices and comparatively evaluated using concept-oriented analytical categories. The findings indicate that cosmogonic myths operate beyond mere narrative description by structuring coherent models of creation in which cognitive intention and verbal articulation play constitutive roles. Full article

This study explores the detection and classification of aguadas (ponds) in the Bajo El Laberinto region, in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, Mexico, using remote sensing techniques. Lidar-derived digital elevation models (DEMs), orthophotos and satellite imagery from multiple sources were employed to identify and characterize these water reservoirs, which played a crucial role in ancient Maya water management and continued to be vital for contemporary wildlife. By comparing different visualization techniques and imagery sources, the study demonstrates that while lidar data provides superior topographic detail, satellite imagery—particularly with nominal 3 m, or finer, spatial resolution with a near-infrared band—offers valuable complementary data including present-day hydrological and vegetative characteristics. In this study, 350 aguadas were identified in the broader region. The shapes, canopy cover, and topographic positions of these aguadas were documented, and the anthropogenic origin of most features was emphasized. The paper’s conclusion states that combining various remote sensing datasets enhances the identification and understanding of aguadas, providing insights into ancient Mayan adaptive strategies and contributing to ongoing archaeological and ecological research. Full article

Historic buildings and urban streetscapes face increasing threats from climate change, development, and aging infrastructure, creating a pressing need for accurate and scalable documentation methods. This review assesses the combined use of photogrammetry and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies in preserving built cultural heritage. We systematically analyze the end-to-end workflow, from the sophisticated processing of imagery into highly detailed and accurate 3D models in photogrammetry software via data acquisition using diverse UAV platforms and sensor payloads. Through case studies, including the mapping of ancient Maya sites in the Yucatán Peninsula and the conservation of the Notre Dame Cathedral, the review highlights the accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility offered by this technological synergy, underscoring its significance for heritage conservation, research, and the development of digital twins. Furthermore, it explores how these advancements foster public engagement and virtual accessibility, enabling immersive experiences and enriched educational opportunities. The paper also critically assesses the inherent technical, ethical, and legal challenges associated with this methodology, offering a balanced perspective on its application. By synthesizing the current knowledge, this review proposes future research trajectories and advocates for best practices, aiming to guide heritage professionals in leveraging photogrammetry and UAVs for the effective documentation and safeguarding of global cultural heritage. Full article

Plant gums have long served as essential binding media in polychrome cultural heritage, contributing to pigment adhesion, surface cohesion, and long-term stability. This review evaluates recent advances in analytical technologies, including FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, MALDI-TOF MS, hyperspectral imaging, and immunological assays, for the identification of gums such as gum arabic, peach gum, and tragacanth in diverse cultural contexts. Drawing on case studies from 19th-century watercolours, ancient Egyptian coffins, and Maya murals, the paper demonstrates how these methods enable precise chemical characterization even in complex, aged, and mineral-rich matrices. Such information directly aids conservators in selecting compatible restoration materials, tailoring treatment protocols, and assessing deterioration mechanisms. Persistent challenges remain, including gum degradation, spectral interference from pigments and restoration materials, sample heterogeneity, and limited reference libraries, particularly for non-European species. Future research directions emphasize multi-modal, non-invasive workflows that integrate hyperspectral imaging with spectroscopic and chromatographic methods, drone-assisted micro-Raman for inaccessible surfaces, machine learning-assisted spectral databases, and bio-inspired adhesives replicating historical rheology. By linking molecular identification to conservation decision-making, plant gum analysis not only deepens our understanding of historical material practices but also strengthens the scientific basis for sustainable heritage preservation strategies. Full article

Archaeological research fundamentally relies on detecting features to uncover hidden historical information. Airborne (aerial) LiDAR technology has significantly advanced this field by providing high-resolution 3D terrain maps that enable the identification of ancient structures and landscapes with improved accuracy and efficiency. This technical note comprehensively reviews 45 recent studies to critically examine the integration of Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) techniques, particularly Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), with airborne LiDAR derivatives for automated archaeological feature detection. The review highlights the transformative potential of these approaches, revealing their capability to automate feature detection and classification, thus enhancing efficiency and accuracy in archaeological research. CNN-based methods, employed in 32 of the reviewed studies, consistently demonstrate high accuracy across diverse archaeological features. For example, ancient city walls were delineated with 94.12% precision using U-Net, Maya settlements with 95% accuracy using VGG-19, and with an IoU of around 80% using YOLOv8, and shipwrecks with a 92% F1-score using YOLOv3 aided by transfer learning. Furthermore, traditional ML techniques like random forest proved effective in tasks such as identifying burial mounds with 96% accuracy and ancient canals. Despite these significant advancements, the application of ML/DL in archaeology faces critical challenges, including the scarcity of large, labeled archaeological datasets, the prevalence of false positives due to morphological similarities with natural or modern features, and the lack of standardized evaluation metrics across studies. This note underscores the transformative potential of LiDAR and ML/DL integration and emphasizes the crucial need for continued interdisciplinary collaboration to address these limitations and advance the preservation of cultural heritage. Full article

The Yucatán Peninsula, a key region of the ancient Maya civilization, has long presented challenges in establishing absolute chronological frameworks for its cultural practices. While the central regions of Mesoamerica have been extensively studied, the southern areas, including the Yucatán, remain underexplored. Limekilns, integral to lime production in pre-Hispanic Maya society, are well suited for archaeomagnetic studies due to the high temperatures (>700 °C) required for their operation. This study analyzed 108 specimens from 12 limekilns near Mérida, Yucatán, using rock-magnetic experiments and progressive alternating field demagnetization to refine the absolute chronology and determine the continuity of the lime production technology. Thermoremanent magnetization was predominantly carried by magnetite-like phases. Archaeomagnetic directions were successfully obtained for ten kilns with robust precision parameters. Age intervals were calculated using global geomagnetic models (SHA.DIF.14K, SHAWQ.2K), local paleosecular variation curves, and a Bootstrap resampling method. The analysis identified apparently two distinct chronological clusters: one between 900 and 1000 AD, associated with the Late–Terminal Classic period, and another near 1500 AD, just prior to the Spanish conquest. These findings reveal an apparent 500-year hiatus in lime production, followed by the potential reuse of kilns. Our study refines the chronological framework for Mayan lime production and its cultural and technological evolution. The integration of archaeomagnetic methods demonstrates their far-reaching applicability in addressing questions of continuity, reuse, and technological adaptation, contributing to broader debates on ancient pyrotechnological practices and their socioeconomic implications. Full article

As urban centers worldwide face the escalating impacts of climate change, rapid urbanization, and increasing water scarcity, the need for sustainable water management practices to enhance urban resilience in the Anthropocene has become critical. This study explores how ancient water management practices—including Roman aqueducts, Maya rainwater harvesting systems, and ancient Chinese flood control techniques—can be adapted to address contemporary water challenges in modern cities. We evaluate these historical practices through a lens of contemporary environmental pressures, including climate change, urbanization, and resource scarcity. By integrating ancient methods with modern technologies, we propose adaptive solutions to enhance urban water resilience. Case studies from five cities (Singapore, Copenhagen, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia) illustrate how modern green infrastructure, inspired by ancient techniques, is being successfully implemented to manage stormwater, mitigate urban flooding, and improve water conservation. By integrating historical practices with modern technologies—such as advanced filtration systems and water recycling—these cities are enhancing their water resilience and sustainability. The findings suggest that urban planners can draw valuable lessons from historical systems to design adaptive, climate-resilient cities that balance human needs with ecological sustainability. This paper concludes with actionable recommendations for future urban planning, emphasizing the importance of decentralized water systems, nature-based solutions, and community engagement to ensure sustainable urban water management in the Anthropocene. Full article

Land use practices have had important implications for structuring household inequalities and broader political systems in the past. Our contribution examines settlement patterns in relation to political structure, household wealth, ecological productivity and agricultural techniques. Combining settlement pattern data with high–precision soils data, we examine the extent to which different trajectories of polity formation impact the settlement location and land use practices of intermediate elites and commoners. The Classic Maya (CE 250/300–900) polities of Baking Pot and Lower Dover in the Upper Belize River Valley serve as enlightening case studies because despite being situated near one another, the two centers emerged along very different trajectories. Whereas the polity of Baking Pot arose slowly, in tandem with surrounding demography, the neighboring polity of Lower Dover arose rapidly in the Late Classic period (CE 600–900) in an area which was already home to established local populations. Our analysis shows that while Baking Pot had substantial settlement clustering around its epicenter, populations at Lower Dover aggregated around secondary and tertiary centers farther away from the polity core. Analyses also demonstrate that most commoner and intermediate elite residences were situated on the most productive agricultural lands in the region, though some intermediate elite households were situated on hilltops or in border zones with marginal soil productivity for political and tactical reasons. Commoner households were situated on a range of productivity zones reflecting diverse land–use practices which had implications for household wealth. Our case study illustrates the importance of integrating land use practices into our reconstructions of ancient political hierarchies, especially in terms of understanding political strategies and household wealth. Full article

This presentation examines the history of duckweeds in Chinese, Christian, Greek, Hebrew, Hindu, Japanese, Maya, Muslim, and Roman cultures and details the usage of these diminutive freshwater plants from ancient times through the Middle Ages. We find that duckweeds were widely distributed geographically already in antiquity and were integrated in classical cultures in the Americas, Europe, the Near East, and the Far East 2000 years ago. In ancient medicinal sources, duckweeds are encountered in procedures, concoctions, and incantations involving the reduction of high fever. In this regard, we discuss a potential case of ethnobotanical convergence between the Chinese Han and Classical Maya cultures. Duckweeds played a part in several ancient rituals. In one, the unsuitability of its roots to serve as a wick for Sabbath oil lamps. In another reference to its early use as human food during penitence. In a third, a prominent ingredient in a medicinal incantation, and in a fourth, as a crucial element in ritual body purifications. Unexpectedly, it emerged that in several ancient cultures, the floating duckweed plant featured prominently in the vernacular and religious poetry of the day. Full article

This study aims to provide a technique applied to archaeology to estimate lidar-based aboveground biomass (AGB) in contemporary tropical forests surrounding archaeological sites. Accurate AGB estimations are important to serve as a baseline to evaluate the wood resources that the ancient Maya could have used for the development of their cities. A lidar processing model is proposed to study the contemporary forest surrounding the Yaxnohcah archaeological site. As tropical forests are highly diverse environments where species are not uniformly distributed, it was necessary to consider the variation within the forest to obtain accurate AGB. Four vegetation communities were defined from a supervised classification of a Sentinel-2 satellite image. A stratified sample was then selected for the field survey that comprised 73 transects of 500 m² each. To estimate the transect AGB, we used an allometric equation that requires diameter, height, and wood density measurements for identified species. Linear-derived models provided the relationship between field data with lidar statistics for each vegetation type. Predicted average AGB values agreed with those obtained in the field. However, they significantly differed between vegetation types, averaging 83 Mg/ha for lowland forest, 178 for transition forest, and 215 for upland forest communities. From those results, we created a map with wall-to-wall AGB estimates following the distribution of vegetation classes that could complement archaeological research of past land use. Vegetation classification also helped determine that there is a spatial relationship between vegetation communities and the distribution of archaeological settlement features for the ancient city of Yaxnohcah. Full article

Since the Green Revolution, the development of agriculture has been measured by the relation between the chemical input (fertilizers and pesticides) and yield. Other factors, such as deforestation, water pollution, biodiversity loss and the loss of human health, were not part of these calculations. With the advent of genetically modified monocrops in the 1990s, GM soy in particular, plantations took over larger surfaces of land, accelerating these negative processes on a previously unknown scale. It has become clear that if this type of agriculture persists, toxic plantations will soon consume the planet. One of the phenomena prompting this awareness in different places of the world was the death of bees. ¿Qué les pasó a las abejas?, directed by Adriana Otero and Robín Canul, relates the environmental conflict between GM soy growers in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, and Mayan beekeepers. Not long after the arrival of GM soy to Yucatan, the bees began to die. When their honey was rejected by the EU authorities due to contamination with transgenic pollen, Mayan beekeepers realized that not only their bees, but also their water and their bodies were poisoned by GM soy agriculture, while their forests were cut for new plantations. The Maya demanded that the state prohibit the planting of GM soy on their land. ¿Qué les pasó a las abejas? is a character-driven documentary featuring leaders of the Maya beekeepers’ movement, including the recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize 2020, Leydy Pech. Maya Land; Listening to the Bees, my own documentary, reflects on the same environmental conflict and asks what the future would look like if bee health was considered a criterion of sustainable development. A vision of an alternative future emerges in both films through a series of interviews with Mayan beekeepers, scientists, and policy makers; bees are healthy, water is clean, and agriculture incorporates a mixture of ancient techniques and cutting-edge technologies that assist humans in rethinking their relationships with land and plants. Full article

Cities nowadays are the most significant source of environmental degradation threatening local and global ecosystems. Interestingly, many ancient settlements present excellent lessons and inspiration for addressing our current urban predicaments, given their environmental stewardship. This research explores how the ecologically embedded settlement patterns, building configurations, urban agriculture and home gardening, and water conservation of the Maya-built environment can offer insights about mitigating contemporary urban sustainability challenges. Mayans’ respect for nature not only guaranteed sustainable habitats but also engendered one of the most remarkable civilizations in a region that did not offer generous support for human accommodation. The Mayan world view promoted the idea of one spirit dwelling in all humans and other-than-human entities in an environment, making everything sacred and kin to everything else. The regional climate was kept under control by protecting the vegetation that also provided other ecological benefits. Land use was mixed, and residences were constructed with native and recyclable materials utilizing natural light and ventilation. The Mayan civilization inspires us to manage and protect plants, not cut them down; conserve water, not waste it; listen to the environmental feedback, not reject it; and, most importantly, it begs us to embrace nature as our own mother, not disown it as something dispensable. These principles have significant implications on urban land-use planning and policies today. Full article

We present results from the archaeological analysis of 331 km² of high-resolution airborne lidar data collected in the Upper Usumacinta River basin of Mexico and Guatemala. Multiple visualizations of the DEM and multi-spectral data from four lidar transects crossing the Classic period (AD 350–900) Maya kingdoms centered on the sites of Piedras Negras, La Mar, and Lacanja Tzeltal permitted the identification of ancient settlement and associated features of agricultural infrastructure. HDBSCAN (hierarchical density-based clustering of applications with noise) cluster analysis was applied to the distribution of ancient structures to define urban, peri-urban, sub-urban, and rural settlement zones. Interpretations of these remotely sensed data are informed by decades of ground-based archaeological survey and excavations, as well as a rich historical record drawn from inscribed stone monuments. Our results demonstrate that these neighboring kingdoms in three adjacent valleys exhibit divergent patterns of structure clustering and low-density urbanism, distributions of agricultural infrastructure, and economic practices during the Classic period. Beyond meeting basic subsistence needs, agricultural production in multiple areas permitted surpluses likely for the purposes of tribute, taxation, and marketing. More broadly, this research highlights the strengths of HDBSCAN to the archaeological study of settlement distributions when compared to more commonly applied methods of density-based cluster analysis. Full article

Changes in land-use and land-cover, including both agricultural expansion and the establishment of protected areas, have altered the landscape pattern and extent of forest and wetland cover in the tropics. In Central America, land-use and land-cover change is also threatening the cultural resources of the region’s ancient Maya heritage since many ancient sites have been degraded by burning, deforestation, and plowing. In this study of Orange Walk District of northern Belize, from the 1980s to the present, we used multitemporal Landsat data with a random forest classifier to reveal trends in land-use and land-cover change and the increasing loss of forest and wetlands. We develop a random forest classifier that is time-generalized to map land-use and land-cover across the entire Landsat record, including Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8, with a single algorithm. Including multiyear and seasonal composites was important for obtaining cloud-free coverage and distinguishing between different land-use and land-cover types. Early deforestation (1984–1987) was in small patches scattered across the landscape and likely driven by small scale agriculture such as milpa and smaller area tractor and horse-drawn plowing. The establishment of protected areas in the late 1980s and early 1990s allowed for forest regrowth in these areas, while wetland losses were high at 15%. The transition to industrial agriculture in the 2000s, however, drove a 43.6% expansion of agriculture and a 7.5% loss of forest and a 28.2% loss of wetlands during the ~15 years. Protected areas initiated in the 1980s led to a nearly 100 km² decrease in agriculture from 1984–1987 to 1999–2001, and they became essential refugia for habitat and maintaining ecosystem services. Full article

Airborne LiDAR produced large amounts of data for archaeological research over the past decade. Labeling this type of archaeological data is a tedious process. We used a data set from Pacunam LiDAR Initiative survey of lowland Maya region in Guatemala. The data set contains ancient Maya structures that were manually labeled, and ground verified to a large extent. We have built and compared two deep learning-based models, U-Net and Mask R-CNN, for semantic segmentation. The segmentation models were used in two tasks: identification of areas of ancient construction activity, and identification of the remnants of ancient Maya buildings. The U-Net based model performed better in both tasks and was capable of correctly identifying 60–66% of all objects, and 74–81% of medium sized objects. The quality of the resulting prediction was evaluated using a variety of quantifiers. Furthermore, we discuss the problems of re-purposing the archaeological style labeling for production of valid machine learning training sets. Ultimately, we outline the value of these models for archaeological research and present the road map to produce a useful decision support system for recognition of ancient objects in LiDAR data. Full article