Maya Mystery Solved by "Important" Volcanic Discovery?
National Geographic News, April 14, 2011
Even at ancient Maya cities far from volcanoes, ash rained down
relatively frequently, a "spectacularly important" new study says. The
finding could explain how these ancient metropolises survived – and
even prospered – despite having poor soil. Recently scientists
discovered a distinct beige clay mineral in ruined canals at Guatemala's
Tikal archaeological site – once the largest city of the southern Maya
lowlands. The mineral, a type of smectite, derives only from the
breakdown of volcanic ash. Using chemical fingerprinting techniques, the
team showed that the smectite at Tikal didn't come from dust ferried
from Africa by air currents – the common assumption – but rather
from volcanoes within Guatemala and in what are now El Salvador,
Honduras, and Mexico. "We believe we have a series of volcanic events"
represented in the minerals, said team leader Ken Tankersley, an
anthropologist at the University of Cincinnati.
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