63-5 Recent Water Chemistry in the Maya Lowlands: Rio Bravo Watershed, Belize

Session: Geoarchaeology of Sites to Landscapes: Current Research on Long-Term Water and Soil Management and Maladaptation (Posters)

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Abstract:

We investigate the water chemistry of the Rio Bravo watershed within the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, northwestern Belize, that preserves a largely old growth forest block. The Rio Bravo watershed is an ecologically, hydrologically, and archaeologically significant area, especially within the realm of understanding current and past human environment interactions. It is also one of only a handful of perennial rivers in the Maya Lowlands and its watershed has highly variable water chemistry, which affects farming potential today and likely did in the past. Here, ancient agricultural activities date back to the Archaic (before c. 3200BP) and continued through the Classic Maya and beyond to the present, though there was significant hiatus 1000 BP, the so-called Maya Classic “collapse”. In May 2024 we identified ancient canals with water still running at the end of a long and extremely dry season within the Birds of Paradise wetland field complex, indicating their perennial nature. We sampled this water and other surrounding water sources to characterize water chemistry and understand how these would affect land formation and crops. We report on these findings from the 2024 and 2025 samples, and we compare them with a synthesis of recent findings from the broader area. Our previous work demonstrated a wide geographical range in water chemistry varying from water with low levels of dissolved solids to water saturated and supersaturated in calcium and sulfate. This comparative analysis will explore the unique geochemical profile of the Rio Bravo watershed, shaped by its underlying geology and various input sources, and examine how these factors have influenced both ancient and modern subsistence strategies. We also present a LIDAR analysis of the Rio Bravo region and related water bodies showing water sources and potential contributions.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-11203

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