Archaeologists working in Belice have discovered the oldest example of a network of human-made canals and ponds used to trap freshwater fish. The construction may have helped the region’s semi-nomadic inhabitants develop into an advanced civilization – and much earlier than initially thought.
“It seems likely that the canals allowed for annual fish harvests and social gatherings, which would have encouraged people to return to this area year after year and congregate for longer periods of time,” said study co-author Marieka Brouwer Burg, professor of anthropology at the University of Vermont, adding: “Such intensive investments in the landscape may have led ultimately to the development of the complex society characteristic of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization.”
According to the study, the miles of zigzag, earthen canals used to channel annual floodwaters into holding ponds to capture fish were built as early as 4,000 years ago. Researchers believe the inhabitants were harvesting enough fish to feed up to 15,000 people. And after about 1,000 years, the waterways were used by these people’s Maya descendants when they started to settle in permanent farming villages.
“The early dates for the canals surprised us initially because we all assumed these massive constructions were built by the ancient Maya living in the nearly city centers,” said study co-author Eleanor Harrison-Buck of the University of New Hampshire. “However, after running numerous radiocarbon dates, it became clear they were built much earlier.”
The waterways were found using Google Earth imagery and drones, a method that recently helped scientists to locate undiscovered Mayan structures.
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