Post by account_disabled on Mar 4, 2024 22:33:20 GMT -5
The ancient Mayan city of Tikal relied on urban reservoirs to supply water during periods of drought . Essentially, they built “constructed wetlands,” or “phytotreatments,” that relied on key minerals, aquatic plants, and other biota to keep the water supply drinkable, a “self-cleaning” approach similar to that used in constructed wetlands today. , according to a new paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Ars Technica
This article was originally published on Ars Technica , a trusted source for techn Chinese Overseas Asia Number Data ology news, technology policy analysis, reviews, and more. Ars is owned by WIRED's parent company, Condé Nast.
Symbiosis with nature
"Most of the major Mayan cities of the southern lowlands arose in areas that lacked surface water but had excellent agricultural soils," said author Lisa Lucero, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. " They compensated by building reservoir systems that started small and grew in size and complexity ."
Like many Mayan cities, Tikal was built on porous limestone, which limited access to drinking water during seasonal droughts, which typically lasted five months, although more severe droughts also occurred, especially in the th century AD . People of Tikal depended on collecting rainwater stored in reservoirs to survive . They quarried the limestone for bricks, mortar and plaster, all of which were used to construct buildings on the site. The resulting depressions were plastered to waterproof them as tanks. Over time, the Mayans built a system of canals, dams, and locks to store and transport water. It is estimated that the Tikal reservoirs could contain up to , cubic meters of water for a population of up to , people between and AD
However, any puddle of water is prone to stagnation and algae growth, as well as serving as a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes. The Mayans came up with ingenious solutions to keep drinking water fresh . Unfortunately, despite these innovations, the prolonged drought between and AD, lasting three to eight years, further exacerbated by intense tropical storms and hurricanes, probably contributed to the Mayan abandonment of Tikal and other cities. Residents formed smaller communities near rivers, lakes and coasts, according to Lucero, as well as in cities in the lowlands and highlands of northern Guatemala.
A study found that two central reservoirs in Tikal contained water that was likely undrinkable due to toxic contamination levels. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati conducted a geochemical analysis of the site's sediments and found toxic levels of mercury, as well as an algae called cyanobacteria that produces toxic chemicals that are resistant even to boiling. Drinking that water would have made residents seriously ill. The team concluded that residents probably obtained drinking water from two more distant reservoirs, Perdido and Corriental, where they found no evidence of mercury or cyanobacteria. They also determined the source of the mercury contamination: cinnabar used to paint plaster murals, clay pots and other objects.
Ars Technica
This article was originally published on Ars Technica , a trusted source for techn Chinese Overseas Asia Number Data ology news, technology policy analysis, reviews, and more. Ars is owned by WIRED's parent company, Condé Nast.
Symbiosis with nature
"Most of the major Mayan cities of the southern lowlands arose in areas that lacked surface water but had excellent agricultural soils," said author Lisa Lucero, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. " They compensated by building reservoir systems that started small and grew in size and complexity ."
Like many Mayan cities, Tikal was built on porous limestone, which limited access to drinking water during seasonal droughts, which typically lasted five months, although more severe droughts also occurred, especially in the th century AD . People of Tikal depended on collecting rainwater stored in reservoirs to survive . They quarried the limestone for bricks, mortar and plaster, all of which were used to construct buildings on the site. The resulting depressions were plastered to waterproof them as tanks. Over time, the Mayans built a system of canals, dams, and locks to store and transport water. It is estimated that the Tikal reservoirs could contain up to , cubic meters of water for a population of up to , people between and AD
However, any puddle of water is prone to stagnation and algae growth, as well as serving as a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes. The Mayans came up with ingenious solutions to keep drinking water fresh . Unfortunately, despite these innovations, the prolonged drought between and AD, lasting three to eight years, further exacerbated by intense tropical storms and hurricanes, probably contributed to the Mayan abandonment of Tikal and other cities. Residents formed smaller communities near rivers, lakes and coasts, according to Lucero, as well as in cities in the lowlands and highlands of northern Guatemala.
A study found that two central reservoirs in Tikal contained water that was likely undrinkable due to toxic contamination levels. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati conducted a geochemical analysis of the site's sediments and found toxic levels of mercury, as well as an algae called cyanobacteria that produces toxic chemicals that are resistant even to boiling. Drinking that water would have made residents seriously ill. The team concluded that residents probably obtained drinking water from two more distant reservoirs, Perdido and Corriental, where they found no evidence of mercury or cyanobacteria. They also determined the source of the mercury contamination: cinnabar used to paint plaster murals, clay pots and other objects.