Mesoamerica a model for modern metropolises

Newswise — Jakarta … San Francisco … Shanghai … Phoenix … Houston.

Numerous major cities worldwide exhibit striking similarities, yet they all share a concerning commonality – being highly affected by the impacts of climate change. Despite their resilience over centuries, urban planners, community leaders, and civil engineers are currently grappling with various environmental challenges in these cities. As they prepare for the future, perhaps seeking inspiration from the distant past could prove expedient.

In a recent article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the focus shifts to ancient Mesoamerican civilizations and how they coped with environmental threats. This study offers valuable insights and examples for modern metropolises to learn from and implement in their own efforts to tackle climate-related issues.

The latest edition of PNAS features the publication "Mesoamerican Urbanism Revisited: Environmental Change, Adaptation, Resilience, Persistence, and Collapse," which is also available for review on PubMed Central. The paper boasts a roster of esteemed anthropological archaeology and urbanism scholars from around the world as its authors.

Lead author Diane Z. Chase, who serves as the University of Houston's senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, emphasized that there are valuable lessons to be gleaned from various regions within Mesoamerica. Diane Chase, along with her husband Arlen Chase, both distinguished archaeologists, long-term research collaborators, and spouses, have frequently visited the Maya archaeological site of Caracol in Belize. They believe that this region, along with others in Mesoamerica, holds vital clues for addressing contemporary urban challenges.

Diane Z. Chase highlighted the exceptional city planning of Caracol during its peak, remarking on its forward-thinking aspects that remain relevant today, such as green cities and walkable urban environments. These ancient practices provide valuable insights for today's cities striving to create sustainable and efficient urban spaces.

Prehispanic Mesoamerica encompassed regions across Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The article explores various Mesoamerican cities, including Caracol, Chunchucmil, Monté Alban, and Teotihuacan in Mexico, along with Tikal in Guatemala.

Remarkably, these Mesoamerican cities thrived without the aid of modern technologies and essential resources like wheeled transport or domesticated animals for carrying heavy loads, such as oxen, mules, or donkeys. Despite the common historical depiction of the decline of Maya cities, the authors, led by Diane Z. Chase, argue that their resilience over the centuries is often overlooked.

The article emphasizes that while the causes of the Classic lowland Maya collapse remain a topic of ongoing debate, significant population changes occurred in many cities. These changes have tended to overshadow the remarkable successes of lowland Maya cities, which persisted, adapted, and flourished for extended periods. Subsequently, smaller cities emerged and flourished, replacing their predecessors in a continuous cycle of urban development.

The enduring strength of these cities can be credited to their robust infrastructure, which included well-developed roads, access to markets, and innovative agricultural terracing – sloped planes ingeniously transformed into flattened platforms for farming. Moreover, these cities thrived due to their advanced socio-economic systems, boasting well-structured governance, institutions, and firmly established social norms.

In the face of numerous environmental challenges, such as droughts, earthquakes, heavy rains, hurricanes, and rising sea levels, these urban centers stood resilient. Researchers uncovered evidence of these meteorological conditions by studying stalagmites, shells, and other artifacts within these ancient sites.

Contrary to popular belief, drought alone did not lead to the downfall of Mesoamerican cities. For instance, Teotihuacan experienced significant growth during a period of severe drought, dispelling the notion that water scarcity invariably caused decline. Similarly, in Caracol, the city had already been largely abandoned before the surrounding region in Belize was affected by a lack of rain. These examples highlight how these cities successfully navigated various challenges, showcasing their adaptability and resourcefulness.

"The correlation between population sizes in these cities and their resilience has little to do with drought," he clarified, emphasizing their remarkable ability to withstand challenges.

Another misconception he addressed was the notion that all cities followed a compact and dense urbanism model, which predominantly stems from Western concepts. In contrast, Mesoamerica (and other parts of the world) showcased a diverse range of urban structures, including dispersed urbanism that varied from city to city. The Chases and their collaborators observed a trend indicating that collective societies, characterized by a predominantly democratic setup, tended to be the most successful.

"During their zenith, Mesoamerican cities flourished, sustaining themselves with collective governance," the authors emphasized in the article. However, the governance systems were dynamic, shifting between more collective and more autocratic models over time. Notably, what stands out in terms of the abandonments of Mesoamerican cities, contrary to earlier beliefs, is that most collapses were linked to the rejection of successful adaptive strategies in favor of autocracy and inequality, resulting in limited wealth sharing. This shift in governance contributed to their downfall.

To ascertain the social structures and governance of these ancient sites, Diane Z. Chase, along with her fellow researchers, conducted an analysis of human remains from Caracol and other locations. By studying the chemical elements present in these bones, they gained insights into the residents' diets, which, in turn, provided clues about their living locations and socioeconomic status. Additionally, examining artifacts and the size of living spaces offered valuable information on wealth, power, and social standing.

Gary M. Feinman, a co-author of the study and the MacArthur Curator of Mesoamerican, Central American, and East Asian Anthropology at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, stressed that Mesoamerica holds numerous valuable lessons. He emphasized the importance of learning from the past to confront the challenges of the future effectively.

The PNAS article serves as an initial step in dispelling misconceptions surrounding the perceived failures of Mesoamerican cities, instead shedding light on the remarkable resilience of their inhabitants. It highlights the enduring strengths and adaptability of these ancient communities, providing a more accurate understanding of their historical achievements.

"The aim of this article is to rectify the misconception that Mesoamerican cities were plagued by collapse, ruled solely by despots, and lacked economic growth and prosperity," Feinman explained. "Unfortunately, this era has often been overlooked as a valuable source of information. By dispelling these widely held misbeliefs, we can make this knowledge more accessible to city planners and policymakers."

Feinman strongly believes that one of the most significant lessons we can draw from the success of Mesoamerican cities comes from their remarkable residents. These community members demonstrated relentless adaptability to changing environments and effectively responded to natural disasters without relying on modern technology. They serve as role models for contemporary communities.

"These cities exemplify the immense potential of human cooperation," Feinman asserted. "When people unite towards a common goal, they can achieve truly astonishing feats." By recognizing and learning from the achievements of these ancient civilizations, modern societies can find inspiration and guidance in addressing their own challenges.

In addition to Diane Z. Chase, Arlen F. Chase and Gary M. Feinman, contributors to this PNAS article are as follows: Jose Lobo, clinical associate professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University; David M. Carballo, professor of anthropology and archaeology at Boston University; Adrian S.Z. Chase, institute postdoctoral fellow and Department of Anthropology postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago’s Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation; Scott R. Hutson, professor and anthropology department chair at the University of Kentucky; Alanna Ossa, associate professor and anthropology chair at the State University of New York, Oswego; Marcello Canuto, professor of anthropology at Tulane University;  Travis W. Stanton, professor of anthropology at the University of California, Riverside;  L.J. Gorenflo, Stuckeman Chair in Design and professor of landscape architecture at Pennsylvania State University; Christopher A. Pool, professor of anthropology at the University of Kentucky;  Barbara Arroyo, research associate at Universidad Francisco Marroquin ‘s Museo Popol Vuh in Guatemala City; Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo, senior investigator at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’s Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas; and the late Deborah L. Nichols, who served as professor of anthropology at Dartmouth University.