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International audience; During the Maya early Anthropocene (2000 BCE e 1000 CE) in Mesoamerica, socio-environmental in-teractions contributed to the rise and decline of the ancient Maya civilisation. At the scale of the exploitation territories of the Maya cities, the temporal variations of hydrological and sedimentary dynamics in response to anthropogenic and climate drivers are still poorly known. This constrains diachronic analyses of socio-ecosystems and, more particularly, of water and soil resources in the hinterlands. This manuscript analyses and presents a regional comparison of the dynamics of one of the most transformed hydrosystems and morpho-sedimentary systems by the societies of the Southern Maya Lowlands (SMLs), during the second half of the Holocene. It focuses on the lake basin of the polje named El Infierno bajo and its watershed, which was the main water storage area for the Maya city of Naachtun e a large regional capital between 150 and 950 CE e, and which contains many remains of hydraulic and agrarian structures. This integrated palaeolimnological, geoarchaeological and hydrological approach, based on the analyses of morpho sedimentary archives, LiDAR altimetry data and hydrological data, resulted in the construction of hydro-sedimentary baselines (pre- syn- and post-ancient Maya anthropogenic impacts). Currently, the intermittent lake (civale) of this bajo responds to strong seasonal and interannual hydrological variabilities, under climate control. During the past 5500 years, hydro-sedimentary fluctuations were marked by the alternation of seven main hydrological periods (HP),characterised by high and low lake levels (alternately perennial, intermittent and dry lake) and six main erosion and sediment transfer periods (ESTP), marked by strong and low alluvial and colluvial detrital inputs in the lowlands. Anthropogenic and climate forcings have independently or jointly controlled the hydrologic and sedimentary budgets of the lake basin. Lithofacies, depositional processes, accumulation rates and drivers of the anthropogenic detrital inputs – the so-called “Maya clays” –, are analysed and quantified from ∼1500 BCE to ∼1150 CE. It thus reveals one of the longest periods of occupation and exploitation of natural resources of the SMLs, for over 2500 years during the Preclassic, Classic and Post-classic Maya periods. The hydro-sedimentary dynamics in the bajos of the SMLs Elevated Interior Region (EIR), such as El Infierno, enabled the long-term exploitation of water and soil resources for agrarian purposes, thanks to the construction of hydraulic and agrarian palimpsest landscapes shaped by the socio-ecosystems.

The majority of ancient Maya funerary contexts, at least those reported by archaeology, are residential in nature. This cultural specificity, while it renders the excavation process more complex, establishes a link between the grave and the surrounding buildings. In turn, this association allows for a very high chronological resolution in reconstructing the history of these residences and the lives of their inhabitants. At Naachtun (Petén, Guatemala), intensive excavations in the residential Group 5N6 over three field seasons yielded important data on the formation and evolution of an ancient Maya residential compound linked to the local elite. The results question the way the inhabitants envisioned and planned their living space and allow us to illustrate the existence of various funerary pathways among the ancient Maya. En su mayoría, los contextos funerarios descubiertos en el área maya proceden de espacios residenciales. Esta característica cultural, muy específica, complica el proceso de excavación. Pero este aspecto lleva a establecer también un vínculo entre los entierros y la arquitectura, una asociación que permite llegar a una resolución cronológica muy fina para reconstituir la historia de estas residencias y de sus habitantes. En Naachtun (Petén, Guatemala), excavaciones intensivas en el grupo residencial 5N6 durante tres temporadas de campo proporcionaron datos importantes en cuanto a la formación y evolución de un espacio residencial maya antiguo vinculado con las elites locales. Los resultados cuestionan la manera de pensar y de planificar su espacio cotidiano por los habitantes e ilustran la existencia de secuencias funerarias distintas entre los antiguos mayas. La majorité des contextes funéraires mayas, du moins ceux identifiés par l’archéologie, proviennent d’espaces résidentiels. Cette spécificité culturelle, tout en compliquant le processus de fouille, établit un lien entre les tombes et les édifices environnants. Cette association permet d’atteindre une très haute résolution chronologique dans la reconstitution de l’histoire de ces résidences et de leurs habitants. À Naachtun (Petén, Guatemala), les fouilles menées dans l’unité résidentielle 5N6 durant trois campagnes successives ont livré des données importantes concernant la formation et l’évolution d’un groupe résidentiel maya associé à l’élite locale. Ces résultats interrogent la manière dont les habitants percevaient et planifiaient leur espace de vie, et mettent en évidence l’existence de plusieurs séquences funéraires chez les Mayas.

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience

espanolDesde que a mediados del siglo XX se detecto en el registro arqueologico la presencia de rasgos teotihuacanos en el area maya, entender la naturaleza de dicha presencia ha sido objeto de un largo y fuerte debate. Hace ya casi veinte anos, David Stuart, siguiendo el trabajo seminal de Tatiana Proskouriakoff, sugirio, basandose en la lectura e interpretacion de los textos epigraficos disponibles, que uno de los episodios de la compleja interaccion entre Teotihuacan y el area maya habia adoptado la forma de una conquista militar, que se verifico en la fecha 8.17.1.4.12 11 Eb’ 15 Mak (378 d.C.). El nuevo registro epigrafico de monumentos de Naachtun, Peten, Guatemala, en el contexto de las excavaciones del Proyecto franco-guatemalteco, ha ofrecido nuevos datos sobre las caracteristicas de la «entrada» del 11 Eb’, corroborando su definitiva naturaleza militar. Sugiere la participacion de reinos mayas del lado de los teotihuacanos en ese importante acontecimiento historico, –entre ellos el reino de Suutz’ (Murcielago) establecido en Naachtun–, que hemos de ver no ya como un acontecimiento puntual sino como la culminacion de un complejo proceso planificado. En esta contribucion, detallaremos tambien como esta alianza con Teotihuacan y luego con los nuevos soberanos de Tikal, favorecio el desarrollo sociopolitico de Naachtun. EnglishEver since the middle of the twentieth century, when archaeological remains showed the presence of Teotihuacan features in the Maya area, the understanding of the nature of such features has been the object of a long and vigorous debate. Nearly twenty years ago, David Stuart, following the seminal work of Tatiana Proskouriakoff, suggested on the basis of new readings and interpretations of the epigraphic texts available at the time, that one of the most important episodes of the complex interaction between Teotihuacan and the Maya area adopted the form of a military conquest that took place on 8.17.1.4.12 11 Eb’ 15 Mak (AD 378). The new epigraphic record of monuments from Naachtun, Peten, Guatemala, within the archaeological excavations of the French-Guatemalan Project, offers new data on the characteristics of the «Entrada» of 11 Eb’, corroborating its absolute military nature. It suggests first, the participation of Maya kingdoms alongside Teotihuacan in this important historical event –among them the Suutz’ kingdom (Bat kingdom) established in Naachtun– and second that this event must be considered not as a punctual one but as the culmination of a complex planned process. In this paper, we also detail how this alliance with Teotihuacan and later with Tikal’s new dynasty, boosted the sociopolitical growth of Naachtun.

In the Southern Maya Lowlands (SML), several scientific and technical obstacles hinder the knowledge of environmental and socio-environmental dynamics, that have occurred at the scale of the territories of the cities. This includes the research topic itself (nature-culture interface), the tropical forest (morphological studies and access to the field) and the morphological and sedimentary archives (taphonomy and discontinuity). The study of the socio-ecosystem of Naachtun (150-950 CE), a Maya city of the Classic period, is not exempt from these constraints. Recently, large-scale work in SML was conducted based on LiDAR analyses and fieldwork. They have profoundly renewed our knowledge of the complexity of landscape transformation and natural environments through the action of the ancient Maya (Canuto et al. 2018). They have provided new research perspectives which allow us to examine the following questions.How did natural resource availability (water, soil and biological resources) change in the territory of the city, with respect to climate change and social demand? How did the ancient Maya adapt their resource management strategies to these changes? How important were socio-environmental risks to the resilience and sustainability of the socio-ecosystem? In order to answer these questions, a new systemic, interdisciplinary and multiscalar research program has been implemented. It includes geoarchaeology (alluvial and agrarian), archaeogeography (LiDAR analysis, spatial analysis), palaeoecology and bioarchaeology [archaeobotany (study of phytoliths, anthrocology, pedoanthracology) zooarchaeology (vertebrate and conchyological fauna remains)], spatial archaeology (agglomeration processes, power relays), palaeodemography and geochronology (14C, OSL). Current and pre-anthropic reference frames (hydrological, pedological and ecological) have also been established.Our results reaveal the complexity of the Maya palimpsest territories produced during the ~ 1500 BCE - 1000 CE period (Preclassic and Classic periods). Hydrosedimentary flows have fluctuated in response to climate change and anthropogenic impacts, controlling the spatiotemporal dynamics of resources (water and soils). Lake levels and erosion have fluctuated according to pluricentennial-scale periods. All compartments of the hydrosystem and the sediment system were subject to transformations, to manage water and soils. A mosaic of agricultural and agroforestry strategies was developed throughout the micro-region (morphologies, practices, cropping systems, fuel economy). Intensive wetland systems and irrigated farming systems were established in poljes, sinkholes and valleys (raised fields and drained fields). In addition, in the hilly areas, agrarian systems based on terraced agriculture, rain-fed farming systems, slash-and-burn, arboriculture and horticulture systems were established. The Maya socio-ecosystem which emerged in this micro-region lasted for more than 2500 years. It experienced shits and continuities and its dynamics are framed around six main multi-secular periods. Its decline was part of the profound changes that took place in the territories of the SML cities between 750 and 1050 CE. The sustainability of this socio-ecosystem during the demographic peak of the Late and Terminal Classic (750-950 CE), before the abandonment of the epicenter of the city of Naachtun (~950 CE), is estimated and discussed in relation to the environmental carrying capacity, social demand, climate and its own resilience.