Julie A Hoggarth

Dramatic climate and ecological shifts are accelerating and understanding the sustainability of human communities as we adapt to environmental stress is one of the most pressing issues for anthropological studies. Research on the dynamic interactions between human societies and the environment is deeply rooted in Anthropology, and archaeology’s focus on the longue dur’e offers a diachronic perspective that can improve our understanding of sustainable interactions with modern environments. This workshop addresses the sustainability and persistence of ancient and modern populations living in communities across the tropical Maya lowlands. Workshop participants will collaborate to characterize the nature and timing of societal persistence, define demographic changes, identify environmental and climatic constraints on subsistence, and highlight cultural practices that enhanced sustainability in three geographic regions in Belize. Information from the past and present centers indigenous and local knowledge about past human responses that can inform discussions of sustainability and resilience to similar challenges that we currently face.