A team of researchers from the University of Vermont (USA) has uncovered a complex network of fishing structures that played a crucial role in the development of the Maya civilization in Central America and present-day Mexico around 4,000 years ago.
What Did the Scientists Discover?
The ancestors of the Maya—hunter-gatherers—constructed these structures to catch fish and feed their families during times of drought. The researchers found this intricate system of fishing devices in the Central American country of Belize (formerly British Honduras).
Thanks to these structures, the Maya ancestors were able to catch enough fish to feed approximately 15,000 people each year. The network consisted of channels and ponds that directed fish to areas where they could be easily caught.
In a report published in the journal Science Advances, the scientists clarified that these hunter-gatherers built these complex networks around 4,000 years ago. At that time, the inhabitants of the region had not yet engaged in large-scale agriculture, as noted by Live Science.
“This is the oldest large-scale archaic fishing structure recorded in ancient Mesoamerica. The success of these hunter-gatherers likely helped shape the Maya, a civilization that later became dominant in Central America and present-day southern Mexico,” the researchers wrote. They also suggested that “these fishing traps encouraged people to gather and create permanent settlements, and eventually cities.”
“It seems that these channels allowed for a consistent fish catch and facilitated community gatherings, prompting people to return to this area year after year and stay for longer periods,” noted co-author Marieke Brauer Burg, a professor of anthropology and the study’s lead researcher. She believes that “such intensive investments in the landscape could ultimately have led to the development of the complex society characteristic of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization that later emerged in this region.”
During the time when these fishing structures were built, the region was becoming drier, forcing the population to contend with drought. This may have prompted people to unite and construct these structures to secure food.
To identify the channels and ponds, the team utilized satellite images and aerial photographs taken with drones. The researchers also conducted excavations and radiocarbon dating of organic deposits and charcoal to determine the age of the fishing structures. They found that the Maya continued to use them during the formative period of civilization—around 2000 to 200 B.C.
“Honestly, this discovery was astonishing. We always thought that large-scale landscape alteration projects occurred during the classic Maya period, from 250 to 900 A.D.,” said Thomas Gooderham, a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Tyler.
Professor Gooderham, who was not involved in the study, added that this discovery could prompt scientists to reevaluate their understanding of what the Maya were like around 4,000 years ago.
The University of Vermont team stated that they plan to continue their research in this region.