Ch'orti Maya Area: Past and Present

4. The Environmental Record of Human Populations and Migrations in the Copan Valley, Honduras

4 The Environmental Record of Human Populations and Migrations in the CopanValley, Honduras Cameron L. McNeil The most prominent archaeological site in the region defined in this book as the Ch′orti′ area is that of Copan in Honduras (see Figures 1.1 and 4.1). This large site rose to prominence and became a state center during the Classic period (circa a.d. 250–900; Fash 1983b, 1988; Traxler 2004). Copan has fascinated both archaeologists and laypersons since it was first brought to broad public notice by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood (Stephens 1969 [1841]). Its mid-nineteenth-century state of abandonment—covered by vegetation and virtually ignored by local Mayas and Ladinos—may have encouraged theories that the descendants of its people were long gone. The scarcity of clear, reliable records on the indigenous inhabitants in the area at the start of the colonial period, have fostered debates as to whether the modern Ch′orti′ Maya, whose strongholds of Jocotán and Camotán lie just across the border in Guatemala, can claim the Classic period Copan population as their ancestors (see Chapters 1, 7, 9, and 11). These debates are fed, in part, by the disjointed settlement patterns found in the Copan Valley and by evidence of various ethnic migrations and enclaves (Fash 2001; Gerstle 1987, 1988; Longyear 1952; Maca 2008; Manahan 2003, 2004; Sharer 2002; Sharer and Traxler 2006a; Stuart 2000). There are also a number of periods during which the human population appears to have decreased or even disappeared from the lands closest to the ancient polity center (Fash 2001; Longyear 1952; Manahan 2004). Further complicating discussions of a continuity of Maya habitation in Copan is the perception (created by modern international boundaries) that the archaeological limits of ancient Copan do not extend to the west into the Guate47 48 · Cameron L. McNeil malan lands acknowledged to be Ch′orti′ in the colonial and modern eras (see Figure 1.1) (see Chapter 6).1 Analyses of settlement patterns and material culture form the principal lines of evidence explored by scholars in their efforts to characterize the human presence in Copan. This chapter explores instead how data from two sediment cores extracted from under bodies of water in the CopanValley can contribute to debates on human population in this area. Methodology Sediment cores were extracted from the bottoms of bodies of water in Copan by using a Livingstone Sampler with aVohnout locking piston and sampling tubes of 1.5 inches in diameter (for further information, see Colinvaux, De Oliveira, and Moreno Patiño 1999). Each tube allows for the extraction of one meter of sediment. Well-preserved sediments contain a wealth of information on the environment surrounding the body of water where they originate. Many lines of evidence can be investigated from these contexts (pollen, diatoms, microscopic charcoal, fungal spores). This chapter primarily concerns the analysis of pollen. The sediment cores discussed in this chapter were exported to the ecology laboratory at Fordham University with permission of the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia. The sediments were extruded and Figure 4.1. A view of the East Court of the Copan Acropolis. (Photo by Cameron L. McNeil) Environmental Record of Human Populations in CopanValley · 49 samples were taken for pollen analysis every five centimeters. Once the pollen was extracted from the sediments, the author analyzed the grains to determine changes in vegetation encapsulated in the core. The methodology used for sediment extraction and analysis is described more extensively in McNeil 2006. Unlike archaeological remains, botanical signatures in ancient sediments do not express ethnic affiliations. However, the identification of patterns in land use and in the types of plants found in a given location can contribute to what is known about human migration and lifeways in that area. The Copan Valley The borders of the CopanValley encompass approximately 400 square kilometers , with the valley’s highest points reaching nearly 1,400 meters above sea level and its lowest areas 600 meters (Webster et al. 2000: 15; Rue 1986; Turner et al. 1983; Willey and Leventhal 1979: 78). The valley is naturally divided into five fertile pockets on the Honduran side of the border (Río Amarillo East, Río Amarillo West, El Jaral, Santa Rita, and Copan; see Figure 4.2), and into six pockets on the Guatemalan side (see Chapter 6; Turner et al. 1983). The most productive agricultural lands are...