@article{758f0b6e38e04ca9b97afdc92135fbf2,
title = "Relict canals of the Tehuac{\'a}n Valley, Mexico: A Middle- to Late-Holocene dryland socio-hydrological system",
abstract = "The travertine-lined irrigation canal networks of the Tehuac{\'a}n Valley, Mexico allowed pre-Hispanic indigenous communities to overcome risks of crop failures in an arid setting. Segments of these systems are still in use today, therefore understanding when and how these irrigation networks functioned allows us to identify which attributes of a coupled socio-hydrological system are important for maintaining the long-term resilience of irrigation systems in drylands. This paper summarizes the results of an interdisciplinary study of this prehispanic irrigation network involving mapping, radiometric dating, and diatom analyses of materials extracted from the travertine lined canals. All of the canal networks were functioning by ca. 2000 BC, at the transition from the Late Archaic to the Formative period, which is before archeological evidence for widespread community-level aggregation. Provocatively, some canals are potentially as old as 6000–4000 BC, which would mean that hunter-gatherers initiated irrigation coevally with the introduction of semi-domesticated maize, a tropical species which would require supplemental water in this arid context. The canals both facilitated agricultural intensification and enhanced the distribution of aquatic ecosystems. The resilience of these systems to their unique spring dependent context demanded frequent maintenance and the integration of multiple canal networks to mitigate geohydrological vulnerabilities of reduced discharge. These conditions set up a long-term reciprocal dynamic between people and water in the Tehuac{\'a}n Valley. The results demonstrate that rigidities inherent to tightly coupled socio-hydrological systems in dryland settings were overcome by institutional arrangements first developed by indigenous communities deep in prehistory.",
keywords = "Late-Holocene, Mesoamerica, Tehuacan Valley, drylands, middle Holocene, sociohydrology, water management",
author = "Neely, {James A.} and Aiuvalasit, {Michael J.} and Winsborough, {Barbara M.}",
note = "The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Our deep appreciation to the following benefactors for our field research funding: the National Science Foundation (Grant # 9986718), the National Geographic Society, the Wenner Gren Foundation, the H. John Heinz III Charitable Fund Grant Program for Latin American Archaeology, and by a Robert Mellon Foundation Faculty Research Grant. Funding for radiocarbon assays and other laboratory analyses was provided by the H. John Heinz III Charitable Fund Grant Program for Latin American Archaeology and by Archeological Research, Inc. Our thanks go to the Instituto Nacional de Antropolog\u00EDa e Historia de M\u00E9xico for granting permits to conduct fieldwork. The following individuals contributed significantly to the success of this project; without their help the project would not have been possible: Scott Anderson, Monica Barnes, S. Christopher Caran, Graciela Casillas, Blas Castell\u00F3n Huerta, William Doolittle, Christopher Eastoe, David Fleming, Marco Fragoso F., Raul Hernandez Garciadiego, Carlos Rinc\u00F3n Mautner, Frances Ram\u00EDrez Sorenson, Linda Scott Cummings, Javier Urcid, and citizens of the Tehuac\u00E1n Valley who took the time to talk with us, share their knowledge, and help in numerous other ways. Special thanks go to William Doolittle, Robert Hunt, Michael O\u2019Brien, Henry Wright, and an anonymous reviewer who read drafts of this paper and made most useful comments and suggestions. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Our deep appreciation to the following benefactors for our field research funding: the National Science Foundation (Grant # 9986718), the National Geographic Society, the Wenner Gren Foundation, the H. John Heinz III Charitable Fund Grant Program for Latin American Archaeology, and by a Robert Mellon Foundation Faculty Research Grant. Funding for radiocarbon assays and other laboratory analyses was provided by the H. John Heinz III Charitable Fund Grant Program for Latin American Archaeology and by Archeological Research, Inc.",
year = "2022",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1177/09596836221121774",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "32",
pages = "1422--1436",
journal = "Holocene",
issn = "0959-6836",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "12",
}