Abstract

ISLEBE, Gerald A. et al. The Paleoanthropocene of the Yucatán Peninsula: palynological evidence of environmental change. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2018, vol.70, n.1, pp.49-60. ISSN 1405-3322.  https://doi.org/10.18268/bsgm2018v70n1a3.

Human activities have changed and shaped landscape conditions of the Yucatán Peninsula for more than 4000 years. Several paleoecological studies showed the oldest pollen record of corn-based agriculture is from northern Belize, with an estimated age of 3300 BC.

Several other studies report maize between 1500 and 3000 BC from northern Guatemala and the Mexican part of the Yucatán Peninsula. After 3500 cal yr BP several paleoecological studies showed a marked tendency to drier climatic conditions. In pollen records, increased drought is expressed as a reduced presence of fossil arboreal pollen. Pollen records with the presence of Zea mays also show other taxa, which are indicators of disturbance in different vegetation types.

Keywords : Paleoanthropocene; Holocene; Yucatán Peninsula; fossil pollen; Zea mays.