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Geoarchaeology and Agroecosystems of the Booth’s River Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2026

Timothy Beach Open the ORCID record for Timothy Beach [Opens in a new window] ,
Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach Open the ORCID record for Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach [Opens in a new window] ,
Samantha Krause Open the ORCID record for Samantha Krause [Opens in a new window] ,
Amy E. Thompson Open the ORCID record for Amy E. Thompson [Opens in a new window] ,
Chris Ploetz Open the ORCID record for Chris Ploetz [Opens in a new window]  and
Brett A. Houk
Timothy Beach*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
Samantha Krause
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and the Environment, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA
Amy E. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
Chris Ploetz
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
Brett A. Houk
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
*
Corresponding author: Timothy Beach; Email: beacht@austin.utexas.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Geoarchaeological and agroecological research in the Three Rivers Region of northwest Belize and specifically in the Booth’s River Depression started in the 1990s. Regional geology is structured by normal faults creating escarpments and depressions that evolve into fluvial karst valleys that host agroecosystem features including wetland fields, terraces, canals, dams, and reservoirs. Our initial research in the Three Rivers Region followed accounts of canals to study areas of wetland fields. We excavated wetland fields that had complex natural and anthropogenic stratigraphy similar to Aztec chinampas. In the broader region, lidar coupled with field and lab studies identified the largest Ancient Maya wetland field complexes, and new lidar data indicate large swaths of wetland fields and canals within the Booth’s River Depression.

Resumen

Resumen

La investigación geoarqueológica y agroecológica en la región de los Tres Ríos, al noroeste de Belice, y específicamente en la depresión del Río Booth, comenzó en la década de 1990. La geología regional está estructurada por fallas normales que crean escarpes y depresiones que evolucionan hacia valles kársticos fluviales, albergando rasgos de agroecosistemas, e incluyendo humedales, terrazas, canales, presas y embalses. Nuestra investigación inicial en la región de los Tres Ríos siguió los registros de canales para estudiar las áreas de humedal. Nuestras excavaciones en los humedales presentaron estratigrafías naturales y antropogénicas complejas similares a las de las chinampas aztecas. En la región en su conjunto, el uso de lidar junto con estudios de campo y de laboratorio, nos permitieron identificar los mayores complejos de humedales mayas conocidos hasta la fecha, y nuevos datos que muestran grandes franjas de humedales y canales dentro de la depresión del Río Booth.

Keywords

agroecosystemsBooth’s RivergeoarchaeologyThree Rivers Adaptive Regionagroecosistemasrío BoothgeoarqueologíaRegión Adaptativa de los Tres Ríos

Information

Type
Report
Information
Latin American Antiquity , First View , pp. 1 - 9
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology.

This report, part of the special section “The Archaeology and Landscapes of the Southeastern Three Rivers Adaptive Region (TRR) of the Maya Lowlands” (Figure 1; Houk et al. Reference Houk, Thompson and Novotny2026), focuses on environments, geoarchaeology, and the agroecosystems of the Booth’s River Depression (BRD; Figure 2). Much of the work synthesized here was hosted by the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, the Maya Research Program, and the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team, although there is earlier and parallel work in Guatemala at Rio Azul (Adams Reference Adams1999; Morales-Aguilar and Valdez Reference Morales-Aguilar and Valdez2024). Most geoarchaeology in this region started with projects in the 1990s and 2000s (Baker Reference Baker2003; Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Hageman and Lohse2002, Reference Beach, Dunning, Luzzadder-Beach, Scarborough, Fedick, Allen, Jiménez-Osornio and Gomez-Pompa2003; Dunning et al. Reference Dunning, Scarborough, Valdez, Luzzadder-Beach, Beach and Jones1999, Reference Dunning, Luzzadder-Beach, Beach, Jones, Scarborough and Culbert2002, Reference Dunning, Jones, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Scarborough, Valdez and Nicholas2003) spurred on by air photos of canals (Figure 3). Here, we summarize the environments and environmental research on the southeastern TRR as well as recent findings from wetland fields within the BRD.

Figure 1.

Regional Map of the Three Rivers Region of the Belize, Mexico, and Guatemala transboundary region. (Color online)

Insufficient visual information to describe this element accurately. See long description.
Figure 1 Long description

Insufficient visual information to describe this element accurately.

Figure 2.

Lidar digital elevation model (DEM) over hillshade (top) and topographic cross section of the southern Booth’s River Depression (bottom). (Color online)

Two images: a Lidar DEM map of Southern Booth’s River Depression and a topographic cross section showing elevation changes. See long description.
Figure 2 Long description

A Lidar digital elevation model (DEM) map of the Southern Booth’s River Depression is shown. The map includes a scale bar indicating distances from 0 to 4 kilometers and a legend showing elevation in meters above sea level, ranging from 0 to 125. The map features labeled locations: Wamil, Sierra de Agua and Ojos de Agua, with symbols representing fields and structures. The topographic cross section below illustrates elevation changes along a transect from point A to A'. The x-axis is labeled 'Distance (m)' ranging from 0 to 12,000 meters and the y-axis is labeled 'Elevation (m)' ranging from 0 to 60 meters. The cross section highlights elevation peaks at Wamil and Sierra de Agua, with lower elevations at Wamil fields and Ojos de Agua. Symbols along the cross section correspond to those on the map, indicating specific geographic features.

Figure 3.

Google Earth basemap with the locations and images of at top a 1992 air photo (Nicholas Brokaw in 1992; Baker Reference Baker2003), in the middle a 2022 lidar-derived hillshade of the Ojos de Agua, and at bottom a 2022 lidar-derived hillshade of the Wamil wetland field sites (NW Belize Lidar Consortium and BEAST). (Color online)

A map of NW Belize showing archaeological sites with aerial and Lidar images of Ojos de Agua and Wamil. See long description.
Figure 3 Long description

The map shows a section of NW Belize with labeled archaeological sites: La Milpa, Blue Creek, Gran Cacao, Chawak But'o'ob, Chan Chich, Wamil, Sierra de Agua and Ojos de Agua. The map includes three inset images. The top inset is an aerial photo of fields by N. Brokaw. The middle inset is a Lidar-derived hillshade of Ojos de Agua from NW Belize Lidar Consortium/Beach Labs UT/BEAST, showing terrain features with a scale of 0 to 250 meters. The bottom inset is a Lidar-derived hillshade of the Wamil wetland field sites, credited to BEAST, also showing terrain features. The map includes a north arrow and a scale bar indicating 10 kilometers.

Environments

The environmental background derives from studies of soils (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Hageman and Lohse2002, Reference Beach, Dunning, Luzzadder-Beach, Scarborough, Fedick, Allen, Jiménez-Osornio and Gomez-Pompa2003, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Krause, Doyle, Eshleman and Wells2018, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Guderjan, Valdez, Fernandez-Diaz, Eshleman and Doyle2019), upland forest (Brokaw et al. Reference Brokaw, Ward, Beach, Luzzadder‐Beach, Walling, Cortes‐Rincon and Valdez2025; Eshleman and Beach Reference Eshleman and Beach2020), wetlands (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Jones, Lohse, Guderjan, Bozarth, Millspaugh and Bhattacharya2009, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Guderjan, Valdez, Fernandez-Diaz, Eshleman and Doyle2019; Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Dunning, Kennett, Krause, Terry, Trein and Valdez2015; Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Walling, Dunning, Flood, Guderjan and Valdez2015; Doyle et al. Reference Doyle, Luzzadder-Beach and Beach2023; Luzzadder-Beach and Beach Reference Luzzadder-Beach and Beach2009; Luzzadder-Beach et al. Reference Luzzadder-Beach, Beach and Dunning2012, Reference Luzzadder-Beach, Beach and Dunning2021), and savannas (Bridgewater et al. Reference Bridgewater, Ibáñez, Ratter and Furley2002). These studies developed models of physiographic regions, geological structure (Ensley et al. Reference Ensley, Hansen, Morales-Aguilar and Thompson2021, Reference Ensley, Guderjan, Hanratty, Guderjan and Hanratty2025), and plant, soil, and human interactions.

Few studies exist for regional climate and paleoclimate (Luzzadder-Beach et al. Reference Luzzadder-Beach, Beach, Hutson and Krause2016; Sekhon et al. Reference Sekhon, Beach, Krause and Eshleman2021), though regional pollen cores provide climate proxy evidence (McCool et al. Reference McCool, Codding, Degnan, Ebert, Johnson, Vernon, Wilson, Beach, Prufer and Kennett2025). For climate-change evidence, most studies reference the wider Maya paleoclimate proxy records from speleothems with well-dated oxygen (O) and carbon (C) isotope variations (e.g., Kennett et al. Reference Kennett, Breitenbach, Aquino, Asmerom, Awe, Baldini and Bartlein2012) and lake cores (e.g., Hodell et al. Reference Hodell, Curtis and Brenner1995) with similarly well-dated isotope records, sedimentology, pollen, biomarkers, and elemental geochemistry. Two key ancient Maya climate aridity periods may have influenced Maya agroecosystem adaptations in the Late Preclassic (400 BC–AD 250) and the Terminal Classic to Early Postclassic (AD 800–1250) (Luzzadder-Beach et al. Reference Luzzadder-Beach, Beach, Hutson and Krause2016).

Regional lithology is largely carbonate rock, mostly limestone, saprolitic limestone (sascab), and dolomite. These weather into karst caves, sinkholes, and hills depending on nearness to stream channels, faults, jointing, and bedding planes. Faulting is a primary landscape scaffold, arranging a landscape uplifted above 400 m above sea level (m asl; Cook et al. Reference Cook, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Smith, James, Harden and Clague2022) in the central Petén that descends a staircase of parallel normal faults eastward across Belize into the Caribbean (Figure 2). The normal faults create higher upland escarpments that rise to 200 m asl—La Lucha, Rio Bravo, and Booth’s River—and intervening lowland half-grabens (low on the fault’s downthrown side rising eastward to the next fault escarpment) such as the Azucar Bajo and the underfit BRD’s valley floor (Ensley et al. Reference Ensley, Hansen, Morales-Aguilar and Thompson2021, Reference Ensley, Guderjan, Hanratty, Guderjan and Hanratty2025).

The river valleys follow fault boundaries, such as the Rio Bravo valley and the BRD. These carve the internally draining karst upper catchments into fluviokarst, and the streams become perennial close to where aquifers supply constant flow below about 40 m asl. The eponymous three rivers rise in the escarpments and run through bajos as seasonal runoff and gather tributaries downstream into their canyons. In their canyons the rivers become fluvial with main stems, tributaries, “yazoo” streams, and spring channels with associated oxbows, meander scars, and levees. In the southern BRD, three other watercourses rise in parallel. The Booth’s River and its Wamil Creek tributary rise near the Maya settlement of Wamil as tributaries to the Three Rivers, whereas Irish Creek, near the Ojos de Agua wetland fields and the Maya site of Sierra de Agua, flows into the New River (Figure 1). The streams that lie above 40 m asl flow from wet season runoff and have low dissolved solids, whereas streams below 40 m asl fed from aquifers tend to have high dissolved solids especially from calcium and sulfate. Thus, the Booth’s River, Wamil Creek, and Irish Creek that flow in the BRD have high dissolved calcium and sulfate, with complicated implications for crops and domestic consumption (Luzzadder-Beach and Beach Reference Luzzadder-Beach and Beach2008). The water geochemistry in this region has its lowest mineral ion concentrations in the western uplands, with a transition to high-ion waters where the deep groundwater springs emerge below the escarpments. High-ion waters present more impediments to agriculture and domestic consumption (Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Dunning, Kennett, Krause, Terry, Trein and Valdez2015; Luzzadder-Beach and Beach Reference Luzzadder-Beach and Beach2009).

Several soil studies have focused on studying ancient wetland fields and agricultural terraces along catenas in the TRR to understand their formation and evidence for ancient Maya management (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Hageman and Lohse2002, Reference Beach, Dunning, Luzzadder-Beach, Scarborough, Fedick, Allen, Jiménez-Osornio and Gomez-Pompa2003, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Krause, Doyle, Eshleman and Wells2018, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Guderjan, Valdez, Fernandez-Diaz, Eshleman and Doyle2019: Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Dunning, Kennett, Krause, Terry, Trein and Valdez2015). Soils in the lowlands tend to be highly fertile floodplain soils near river channels, and some have consistently high-water tables that form Histosols, but most are Entisols or Mollisols, the latter with more fertile, deeper A horizons. Within 100–200 m from the main channels, most of the soils are on fluvial terraces and the low gradient backslope of fault blocks. Here the soils are still seasonally wet but are generally Vertisols, which are fertile but have dense clays that affect cropping (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Dunning, Luzzadder-Beach, Scarborough, Fedick, Allen, Jiménez-Osornio and Gomez-Pompa2003; Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Walling, Dunning, Flood, Guderjan and Valdez2015). Soils higher up escarpments are well-drained, thin, lithic Mollisols, often productive Rendolls, which can be fertile except for the fact that their thinness limits water and nutrient storage. The upland soils could be thin due to ancient Maya erosion, but these soils often form on tropical forest limestones (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Krause, Doyle, Eshleman and Wells2018).

The tropical vegetation in this region includes tropical forest, cohune palm forests, riparian forest, swamps, marshes, and savannas, both in patches inside forested zones and with pine, oak, and palmetto ecosystems of the sand plains. Some areas are old-growth forests, often in conservation protection, outside of which severe losses of wetlands and forest have occurred since industrial farming (Doyle et al. Reference Doyle, Beach and Luzzadder-Beach2021). The old-growth forests are also highly affected by the ancient Maya infrastructure that undergirds much of these ecosystems (Brokaw et al. Reference Brokaw, Ward, Beach, Luzzadder‐Beach, Walling, Cortes‐Rincon and Valdez2025).

Agroecosystems

The broader TRR hosts several types of Maya agroecosystems and soil and water management features such as wetland fields, terraces, dams, reservoirs (Beach Reference Beach and Sanz2017), and albarradas (Kwoka et al. Reference Kwoka, Guderjan, Eshleman, Ruhl, Telepak, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, McClatchey and Bascopé2021). Lidar analyses coupled with field and lab study have greatly expanded our knowledge of these systems, especially the wetland complexes of the Rio Bravo (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Dasgupta, Raven and McIvor2019; Sanchez Morales et al. Reference Sanchez Morales, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Cook, Smith and Lentz2026). The southern BRD also hosts wetland agroecosystems identified before lidar. For example, Nicholas Brokaw took aerial photographs of wetland fields in 1992 that spurred research at the Ojos de Agua field complex (Figure 3), near the site of Sierra de Agua (Baker Reference Baker2003). Work in the complex analyzed the fields, canals, and a reservoir (Baker Reference Baker2003; Dunning et al. Reference Dunning, Jones, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Scarborough, Valdez and Nicholas2003). Later work in the Rio Bravo developed four models of ancient Maya wetland field formation (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Jones, Lohse, Guderjan, Bozarth, Millspaugh and Bhattacharya2009, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Guderjan, Valdez, Fernandez-Diaz, Eshleman and Doyle2019), but Ojos de Agua was the first we found that resembles Central Mexican chinampas because of layers such as river cobbles to raise it (Figure 4; see also Cordova Reference Cordova2022:221–222). This excavation also produced pollen evidence for maize and manioc, increased charcoal from fire management, and geochemical evidence for intensive maize cultivation (i.e., carbon isotopic ratios for C4 plants; Figure 5; Krause et al. Reference Krause, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Guderjan, Valdez, Eshleman, Doyle and Bozarth2019). These lines of evidence for cultivation occur between Early Preclassic and Late Classic radiocarbon ages. Lidar from 2022 (Figures 2 and 3) indicates a greater extent of wetland fields and canals than previously known in this region, both in the perennially wet lowlands and seasonably wet upland bajos. Terraces and albarradas are common in the southern BRD, but only those in the Rio Bravo uplands have been studied (Beach et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Dunning, Hageman and Lohse2002, Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Krause, Doyle, Eshleman and Wells2018; Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, et al. Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Walling, Dunning, Flood, Guderjan and Valdez2015).

Figure 4.

Top: Stratigraphy of two excavations in the Ojos de Agua wetland field complex: SDA1 lies outside the field complex and SDA2 is a raised field surrounded by canals (redrawn from Krause et al. Reference Krause, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Guderjan, Valdez, Eshleman, Doyle and Bozarth2019); SDA1 has O and A (topsoil), Cgy (little soil pedogenesis but gleying and gypsum precipitation), and Cg soils horizons with no sign of anthropogenic change. SDA2 has been built up by layers of cobble and soil above the Early Formative Ab (buried soil), including a Late Classic Ab (buried soil) from 50 to 70 cm below the modern topsoil. Middle: Lidar visualization with original survey map (Baker Reference Baker2003) superimposed over the canals. Bottom: Model for the formation of the field by sedimentation from the Early Formative, the intentional cobble / undiagnostic ceramic fill, and soil fills above. (Color online)

A three-panel scientific figure comparing natural and modified wetland soil profiles, a field site map and a four-stage conceptual model of wetland field formation. See long description.
Figure 4 Long description

An explanatory scientific figure arranged in three sections read from top to bottom. The first section presents two side-by-side stratigraphy columns. The left column is titled SDA1: Natural Wetland Soil. It shows labeled soil horizons from top to bottom: O, A, Cgy, Cg2 and a lower zone described as Cg3 becoming reduced with depth, followed by snag eroding decomposing to bedrock. The depth axis runs from 0 to approximately 200 centimeters. The right column is titled SDA2: Modified Wetland Field. Its labeled layers from top to bottom include Cgy, Ab, ACg, a Cobble/Charcoal/Ceramic Layer and Cg2, ending at Bedrock. Two radiocarbon dates appear alongside this column: 1304 plus or minus 30 BP and 3307 plus or minus 38 BP, with a third reading of 3349 plus or minus 33 BP. The depth axis also runs from 0 to approximately 200 centimeters. The second section shows a site map with field outlines marked in yellow and two red star markers identifying the locations of SDA1 and SDA2 within the mapped area. A north arrow is visible. The caption below reads: From Baker left parenthesis 2003 right parenthesis map of fields. The third section contains four sequential cross-section illustrations labeled with numbered stage headings. Stage 1 is titled Archaic terrestrial surface. Stage 2 is titled Watertable rise aggradation and soil formation. Stage 3 is titled Maya modification comma dredging of canals and creation of fields. Stage 4 is titled Natural soil formation after abandonment. Each stage shows trees, water levels and soil layers to represent changes across time.

Figure 5.

Multiproxy diagram of an excavation of raised field at Ojos de Agua, which are like some Central Mexican chinampas because of the distinct layering including the cobble (redrawn from Krause et al. Reference Krause, Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Guderjan, Valdez, Eshleman, Doyle and Bozarth2019). Note the overlapping evidence of maize from pollen and carbon isotopic signatures of C4 plants like maize along with the manioc pollen in the wetland field profile (see Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, et al. [Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, Dunning, Kennett, Krause, Terry, Trein and Valdez2015] and Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, et al. [Reference Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, Walling, Dunning, Flood, Guderjan and Valdez2015] for carbon isotopic signatures of C4 plants like maize).

Multiproxy depth profile of a raised-field excavation: sediment layers, proxy markers, magnetic susceptibility and carbon isotope values vs depth. See long description.
Figure 5 Long description

The diagram presents a multiproxy stratigraphic depth-profile for a raised-field excavation. The figure is organized into several components described below by content rather than layout position. The stratigraphic column displays sediment layers with depth marked on the y-axis in centimeters, increasing downward. Distinct visible layers are shown across the full depth range of the profile. The proxy marker section displays multiple columns representing different biological and geochemical indicators including pollen types such as maize and manioc and charcoal presence. Each column is plotted against depth in centimeters on the y-axis, increasing downward. Markers appear at several depth intervals throughout the profile, with notable clustering visible in the mid-profile zone. The magnetic susceptibility depth-profile plot has depth in centimeters on the y-axis, increasing downward and magnetic susceptibility values in units of 10 superscript minus 5 SI on the x-axis, ranging from 0 to approximately 1000. A single line traces changes in susceptibility with depth. A visible peak occurs at a mid-profile depth, with lower values recorded toward the upper and lower ends of the profile. The carbon isotopic depth-profile plot has depth in centimeters on the y-axis, increasing downward and delta C subscript 13 values in per mil on the x-axis, ranging from approximately minus 30 to 0. Two lines are plotted, distinguished in the legend. The lines show a shift toward less negative delta C subscript 13 values in the mid-profile zone, with more negative values recorded at shallower and deeper intervals. The legend identifies the two data series but the labels are not fully legible at the available image resolution.

Our preliminary study guided by lidar of Wamil (Figures 2 and 3), a hinterland residential group, revealed a new ancient agroecosystem with evidence of long-term human use. The study combined excavation, sediment coring, high-resolution airborne lidar, and iPhone lidar to map canal and field stratigraphy. Sediments were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence, elemental carbon analysis, particle size analysis, stable carbon isotopes, and radiocarbon dating. Stratigraphy revealed deeply buried anthropogenic horizons, including two paleosols dated to the Late Preclassic and Classic periods, associated with Zea mays pollen and carbon isotope ratios (paralleling the findings from Ojos de Agua) as well as non-pollen palynomorphs indicative of cultivated, open wetlands. The lidar survey revealed extensive rectilinear patterns that suggest canalization and field raising over time (Figure 3). Radiocarbon dates from as early as 2650 to 260 BP confirmed sustained use of the Wamil wetlands. Stable isotope values suggest maize cropping and hydrologic management. The wetland features may reflect landscape engineering for agriculture tailored to cope with high calcium and sulfate water concentrations, which would affect crop yields, water quality, and human health.

Together, these findings underscore the complexity, innovation, and resilience of ancient Maya agroecosystems at Wamil and contribute to a broader understanding of wetland modification and environmental adaptation. These agroecosystems provide ways of managing water. Reservoirs and dams have obvious water retaining functions of managing too much or too little water or maintaining ecosystems. Terraces build up soils, helping store important soil water for crops. Wetland systems with raised fields and canals may be for draining or maintaining water for the needs of specific crops. But other often ignored functions are for water quality for drinking water, sanitation, irrigation, or to protect crops and humans from harmful water, which is present regionally (Luzzadder-Beach and Beach Reference Luzzadder-Beach and Beach2008).

Conclusions

The BRD holds great potential for research on agroecosystems and geoarchaeology. New lidar data indicate large areas of wetland fields, canals, and reservoirs (Houk et al. Reference Houk, Thompson and Estrada-Belli2025). Two previous studies at Ojos de Agua have shown all these features. Combined, the Ojos de Agua studies and our new study at Wamil indicate evidence for intensive agriculture with raised fields, canals, and a connected dam and reservoir. Here also lidar indicates more archaeological sites adjacent to wetland complexes, where ongoing studies are linking urban places to hinterlands to understand archaeological and geoarchaeological landscapes together in the TRR.

Acknowledgments

We thank the following for assisting our research: Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, the Maya Research Program, the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team, local landowners and guides, our students, the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area of the Programme for Belize, and the Belize Maya Forest Trust. Research permits were issued by the Belizean Institute of Archaeology (IA) to Houk. Feedback from anonymous reviewers and the journal editor improved our report, and we thank them for their insightful comments. We also thank the Northwestern Belize Lidar Consortium, the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team, and the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (University of Houston) for past and current lidar imagery used to guide our research. We thank J. Mauricio Velasco Alban for helpful comments on Spanish translation.

Funding Statement

Support was provided, in part, by the following sources: University of Texas at Austin’s C. B. Smith Centennial Chair and R. C. Dickson Centennial Professorship Endowments, Planet Texas 2050, and the College of Liberal Arts (Beach and Luzzadder-Beach PIs); the US National Science Foundation (Grants 0924501, 0924510, 1114947, and 1550204, Luzzadder-Beach, Beach, and Brokaw PIs); the Alphawood Foundation (Houk), which funded the lidar survey; and the University of Texas at Austin (Thompson).

Data Availability Statement

Data cited in this synthesis article are available in the publications cited. Archaeological materials cited in this article are curated in Belize, overseen by IA-NICH Belize and by the respective archaeological permit-holding projects (Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, the Maya Research Program, and the Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team); sediment samples cited are curated in the USDA permit-holding Beach-Butzer Labs at the University of Texas at Austin, exported by permission of the IA.

Competing Interests

The authors declare none.

References

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Figure 0

Figure 1. Regional Map of the Three Rivers Region of the Belize, Mexico, and Guatemala transboundary region. (Color online)Figure 1 long description.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Lidar digital elevation model (DEM) over hillshade (top) and topographic cross section of the southern Booth’s River Depression (bottom). (Color online)Figure 2 long description.

Figure 2

Figure 3. Google Earth basemap with the locations and images of at top a 1992 air photo (Nicholas Brokaw in 1992; Baker 2003), in the middle a 2022 lidar-derived hillshade of the Ojos de Agua, and at bottom a 2022 lidar-derived hillshade of the Wamil wetland field sites (NW Belize Lidar Consortium and BEAST). (Color online)Figure 3 long description.

Figure 3

Figure 4. Top: Stratigraphy of two excavations in the Ojos de Agua wetland field complex: SDA1 lies outside the field complex and SDA2 is a raised field surrounded by canals (redrawn from Krause et al. 2019); SDA1 has O and A (topsoil), Cgy (little soil pedogenesis but gleying and gypsum precipitation), and Cg soils horizons with no sign of anthropogenic change. SDA2 has been built up by layers of cobble and soil above the Early Formative Ab (buried soil), including a Late Classic Ab (buried soil) from 50 to 70 cm below the modern topsoil. Middle: Lidar visualization with original survey map (Baker 2003) superimposed over the canals. Bottom: Model for the formation of the field by sedimentation from the Early Formative, the intentional cobble / undiagnostic ceramic fill, and soil fills above. (Color online)Figure 4 long description.

Figure 4

Figure 5. Multiproxy diagram of an excavation of raised field at Ojos de Agua, which are like some Central Mexican chinampas because of the distinct layering including the cobble (redrawn from Krause et al. 2019). Note the overlapping evidence of maize from pollen and carbon isotopic signatures of C4 plants like maize along with the manioc pollen in the wetland field profile (see Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Cook, et al. [2015] and Beach, Luzzadder-Beach, Krause, et al. [2015] for carbon isotopic signatures of C4 plants like maize).Figure 5 long description.