Ancient Maya used sustainable farming, forestry for millennia
The study analyzed environmental DNA in combination with pollen and the collected remains of plants and other organic material.
Researchers turned to Alison Weiss, a professor of molecular genetics in UC’s College of Medicine, for her expertise in unlocking secrets of ancient DNA.
“Pollen analysis only can occur with specific plants at specific times of the year,” Weiss said. “DNA does not suffer from those limitations.”
Lentz said environmental DNA analysis helps fill in gaps left behind in traditional pollen analysis.
“Environmental DNA is a very powerful tool,” Lentz said. “A lot of important trees don’t produce much pollen. If they’re insect pollinated, they make just a few sticky pollen grains that don’t get dispersed except by insects. So they don’t often show up in a pollen profile. So DNA analysis is invaluable in filling the gaps.”
Dunning said researchers are turning to a variety of tools in combination to create a better understanding of ancient civilizations.
“Environmental DNA offers a new window into ancient vegetation and organic products,” he said. “Each tool can give you insights, but none can give you a perfect picture of the ancient organic world. The more proxies you can use, the more complete a picture you can get.”
UC’s analysis also identified ancient paper and ink, which was used in a variety of Maya products, including clothing, adornments and ancient manuscripts known as a codex. These artifacts quickly decompose in the tropical climate, Dunning said, so environmental DNA analysis is useful in identifying it.
“The Maya used dyed paper cloth in adornments as well as in headpieces. They also used special paper in ceremonies, for example, to absorb blood, then burned as an offering to various gods,” Dunning said.
The project was a collaboration between UC and the University of Calgary, the Universidad Autónoma de Campeche and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. It was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, a University of Calgary seed grant, the Universidad Autónoma de Campeche and the University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property Fund.
Featured image at top: University of Cincinnati students sift through dirt excavated at the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah. Photo/David Lentz
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