Mayan Water Management, Homeschooling Blog, New Digital Art and Photography

11 months ago

Mayan Water Management

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We are making our way through our Mayan unit. Like any civilization, the ancient Meso-Americans required two non-negotiable things to build cities and support the division of labour required to build and maintain a non-hunter and gatherer society: food surpluses and water.

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From our studies ...

Most Mayans lived in city states surrounded by jungle on the Yucatan Peninsula. This region is very hot and dry in one season and hot and wet in another. The Mayans would have had to have a way of storing water in the rainy season, for times of drought, and also a way to avoid flood damage during the rainy season.

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In the above video from the YouTube channel, Let Me Know, they explore the Amazing Water Management of the Ancient Mayans. Like any civilization, the Mayans needed a food surplus and reliable source of water. Not too much, not to little. Dating as far back as 800 BCE, the Mayans used controlled irrigation.

Although the jungle receives a lot of precipitation in the rainy season, the soil of the Yucatan Peninsula is made mostly of limestone, and this means there is very little surface water. It is a Karst Plain where there are many underground drainage systems, sinkholes and caves. The lakes and ponds left are marshy and not suitable for drinking.
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The Mayan city of Jacque was built over a series of aquatic caves, and they constructed cisterns and reservoir to store water. These undergrounds channels, cisterns and reservoir were fed by rain and underground streams.

Some scientists believe the Mayans may have contributed to their own end by cutting down too many trees for agriculture and thereby reducing the flow of trans-evaporation. This resulted in less rain and less underground stores.

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