The Lakes of the Basin of Mexico : Dynamics of a Lacustrine System and the Evolution of a Civilization

This book is a review of research on the prehistoric and historic evolution of the Basin of Mexico’s lacustrine systems. Based on this review, the book presents a model of long and short-term natural lacustrine dynamics as the basis for understanding the processes of human adaptation and transformation of the aquatic ecosystems of the Basin of Mexico. Although only remains of the former lakes exist, the book stresses the importance of the knowledge of the former natural and cultural history of the lakes. In this sense, the book addresses the misconceptions and misinterpretations of the lakes that still exist in the literature and the media and that do not reflect the real nature of the lakes in the past. Therefore, the book attempts to not only feed into the local knowledge of the lakes, but also contribute to the worldwide knowledge of lacustrine dynamics and human populations that lived in and around them. The book should be of interest to geographers, geologists, archaeologists, natural historians and environmental scientists, civil engineers, city planners and those involved in the management of natural resources. Preface Notes on Usage, Place Names, and Chronology Acknowledgments Contents Part I: The Lakes: Approaches and Records of Their Past and Present Chapter 1: Basin of Mexico and Its Lakes: Approaches and Research Questions 1.1 Defining a Regional Research Subject 1.2 Scientific and Humanistic Approaches 1.2.1 The Development of a Scientific Approach 1.2.2 The Emerging Interest in the Past 1.2.3 Archaeology, Anthropology, and Ethnohistory 1.2.4 Hydrology and Hydraulics 1.2.5 Geosciences and Civil Engineering 1.2.6 Quaternary Geology and Geoarchaeology 1.2.7 Paleoecology and Paleolimnology 1.2.8 Cultural Ecology 1.2.9 Environmental History 1.2.10 Ecology and Conservation 1.3 Persistent Views Regarding the Former Lakes 1.3.1 Unfounded Paradigms 1.3.2 The Configuration of the Former Lakes on Maps 1.3.3 A View from the City Versus a View from the Lakes 1.4 Thematic Research Questions 1.4.1 The Evolution and Geographic Characteristics of the Prehistoric Lakes 1.4.2 Long- and Short-Term Lacustrine Dynamics 1.4.3 Lake Dynamics and Human Appropriation of Lacustrine Spaces 1.4.4 The Origin and Evolution of Tenochtitlan and Its Hydraulic System 1.4.5 The Lakes During the War of Conquest 1.4.6 Spanish and Independent Mexican Attitudes Toward the Lakes Chapter 2: Resources for Reconstructing the Ancient Lakes 2.1 Diverse Sources of Information 2.2 The Archaeological Record 2.2.1 The Preceramic Period 2.2.2 The Ceramic Period 2.2.3 Recovery of the Archaeological Record 2.2.4 Archaeology in the Urbanized Areas 2.2.5 The Artifactual Record of Past Aquatic Lifeways 2.3 The Historical and Ethnohistorical Record 2.3.1 Codices and Representations of Lacustrine Geography 2.3.2 Chronicles and Descriptions of Daily Life 2.3.3 Written Documents and Cartographic Sketches 2.3.4 Historical Landmarks and Historical Photography 2.4 The Modern Environment and the Ethnographic Record 2.4.1 Features in the Modern Landscape as Clues to the Past 2.4.2 The Ethnographic Record and Ethnoarchaeology 2.5 GIScience, Virtual Realities, and Modeling 2.5.1 GIS and Remotely Sensed Imagery 2.5.2 Virtual Realities of the Past 2.5.3 Modeling Past Environments and Their Processes Chapter 3: Geographic Context and the Modern Environment 3.1 General Physiographic Background 3.1.1 Location and Major Landforms 3.1.2 Topographic Characteristics of the Lacustrine Basins 3.2 Climate 3.2.1 General Climatic Patterns 3.2.2 Temperatures 3.2.3 Precipitation and Moisture Balance 3.2.4 Wind Patterns 3.3 Hydrology 3.3.1 The Current Drainage System 3.3.2 The Modern Hydrological Record and the Former Lake Basins 3.4 Regional Ecosystems and Soils 3.4.1 Vegetation Communities and Floristic Composition 3.4.2 Fauna 3.4.3 Soils and Landscapes 3.5 Lacustrine Flora and Fauna 3.5.1 Aquatic, Subaquatic, and Halophytic Vegetation 3.5.2 Fish 3.5.3 Amphibians and Reptiles 3.5.4 Aquatic Avifauna 3.5.5 Other Living Forms in the Aquatic Environments Chapter 4: Geological Evolution of the Lacustrine Basins 4.1 The Geological Record 4.1.1 Stratigraphic Sequences 4.1.2 Deep Cores 4.1.3 Medium-Depth Cores 4.1.4 Shallow-Depth Cores 4.1.5 Subsurface Cores and Exposures 4.1.6 Lithostratigraphic Chronologies 4.1.7 Surface Geology and Tectonic Structures 4.1.8 Geotechnical Records 4.2 The Tectonic and Volcanic Background 4.2.1 The Basin of Mexico in the Regional Tectonic Context 4.2.2 Summarized Sequence of Geologic Events 4.3 Formation and Integration of the Lacustrine Basins 4.3.1 Tectonic Evolution Models and Biogeographic Patterns 4.3.2 The Origin and Integration of the Pleistocene Endorheic Basins 4.4 Geological Legacies in the Lacustrine Realm 4.4.1 The Legacy of Deep Faulting 4.4.2 The Volcanic Legacy 4.4.3 Minerals in the Lacustrine Basins Chapter 5: Recent Sediments and Landforms 5.1 Sediments, Landforms, and Their Interpretation 5.1.1 The Lacustrine Basins in the Quaternary 5.1.2 Geomorphic Features in the Lacustrine Realm 5.2 Sedimentation in the Lacustrine Basins 5.2.1 Lacustrine and Palustrine Sediments 5.2.2 Gaps and Disturbance of Lacustrine Stratigraphic Sequences 5.3 Lakeshore and Transitional Environments 5.3.1 Beach and Other Lakeshore Deposits 5.3.2 Fluvial Environments and Their Stratigraphic Sequences 5.3.3 Fluvio-lacustrine Deposits 5.4 Pedogenesis and Soil Patterns in the Dry Lakebeds Chapter 6: Lacustrine Change in the Late Quaternary 6.1 Chronological Schemes 6.1.1 Stratigraphic and Chronological Schemes in the Quaternary of the Basin of Mexico 6.1.2 The Impact of Absolute Chronologies 6.1.3 Tephrochronology 6.2 Paleolimnological Research in the Basin of Mexico 6.2.1 Research Localities 6.2.2 Paleolimnological Research 6.2.3 Multiproxy Paleolimnological Reconstructions 6.3 Background for Paleoclimatic Change 6.3.1 Correlation Across Paleoclimatic Records 6.3.2 Glacial Chronologies and Lacustrine Changes 6.3.3 Vegetation Changes Around the Lakes 6.3.4 Paleosols and Paleoclimatic Change 6.3.5 High-Resolution Records Part II: The Lakes: Geography and Environmental Dynamics Chapter 7: A Geographic Sketch of the Historic Lakes 7.1 Cartographic Representations of the Lakes 7.1.1 The Former Lakes in Modern Maps 7.1.2 Cartographic References for Reconstructing the Ancient Lakes 7.2 An Ever-Changing Lacustrine Geography 7.2.1 The Lakes and Their Changing Shorelines 7.2.2 Connected or Disconnected Lakes? 7.2.3 Lagos or Lagunas? 7.2.4 Shifting Names and Shifting Lakes 7.3 A Geography of the Historic Lakes 7.3.1 The Lacustrine Complex 7.3.2 The Northern Lakes: Zumpango and Xaltocan 7.3.2.1 Lake Zumpango 7.3.2.2 Lake Xaltocan 7.3.3 Lake Texcoco 7.3.4 The Southern Lakes: Chalco and Xochimilco 7.3.5 Recapping on the Geographic Nature of the Former Lakes Chapter 8: Models of Lacustrine Dynamics and Environments 8.1 Conceptual Framework and Methodological Approaches 8.1.1 Characterization of the Basin of Mexico’s Lacustrine Systems 8.1.2 Approaches to Reconstructing the Dynamics of Vanished Lakes 8.2 Shallow Lacustrine Systems 8.2.1 General Characteristics of Shallow Lakes 8.2.2 Wind, Currents, and Waves: A Model 8.2.3 Effects of Storms and Seiches 8.2.4 Fluvio-Lacustrine Environments: Deltaic Systems 8.3 Natural Features in the Lacustrine Realm 8.3.1 Islands, Shoals, and Tulares 8.3.2 Mudflats, Saltflats, Marshes, and Swamps 8.3.3 Inlets (Esteros) 8.3.4 Springs 8.4 Ecological Expression of Depositional Environments 8.4.1 Geomorphological and Ecological Diversity Across the Former Lake Basins 8.4.2 Low-Gradient Littoral Environments 8.4.3 High-Gradient Littoral Environments 8.4.4 Mid-Lake Environments 8.5 Dynamics of the Basin’s Lacustrine Complex 8.5.1 Physico-Geographical Factors 8.5.2 Seasonal, Interannual, Decadal, and Centennial Lacustrine Dynamics Chapter 9: Cultural Features in the Lacustrine Realm 9.1 Cultural Features: Environmental Context and Basic Structures 9.1.1 The Lacustrine Context of Human-Made Features 9.1.2 The Palisaded Enclosure as a Basic Construction Feature 9.2 Tlateles, Platforms, and Complex Insular Settlements 9.2.1 The Concept of Tlatel in the Lacustrine Context of the Basin of Mexico 9.2.2 From Tlatel and Platform to Insular Complexes 9.2.3 Tlateles and Salt-Production 9.2.4 Archaeological Examples of Tlateles 9.3 Chinampas 9.3.1 Definition and Description 9.3.2 Types of Chinampas 9.3.3 Chinampa Fields in the Context of Other Features 9.4 Canals and Embarcaderos 9.4.1 Canals and Their Purposes 9.4.2 Embarcaderos (Dockings) 9.5 Dikes, Dams, and Causeways 9.5.1 Features and Functions 9.5.2 Features Associated with Dikes and Causeways 9.6 Tools, Human Power, and Construction Materials 9.6.1 Tools and Human Power 9.6.2 Lacustrine Raw Materials 9.6.3 Non-lacustrine Materials Chapter 10: Models of Lacustrine Features and Settlement Development 10.1 A Classification of Cultural Lacustrine Features 10.1.1 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 10.1.2 Feature Typology by Setting and Type of Construction 10.2 Types of Features: Models and Examples 10.2.1 Tlateles Based on Geomorphic Setting 10.2.2 Tlateles and Platforms Based on Construction Type 10.2.3 Canals 10.2.4 Embarcaderos 10.2.5 Types of Chinampas by Setting 10.2.6 Types of Chinampas by Construction 10.2.7 Dikes, Causeways, and Bordos 10.3 Processes of Lacustrine Appropriation and Control 10.3.1 Complexes of Cultural Features in the Lakes of the Basin of Mexico 10.3.2 Processes of Cultural Development and Control of Freshwater Lakes 10.3.3 Processes of Cultural Development and Control of Saline Lakes 10.3.4 Water Compartments in the Agricultural Development of Saline and Brackish Lakes Part III: Lacustrine Systems in the Evolution of Civilization Chapter 11: From the Upper Pleistocene to the Agricultural Beginnings 11.1 The Lakes Through the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene 11.1.1 The Lakes Before the Appearance of Humans in the Basin 11.1.2 From MIS 6 to MIS 2 11.1.3 The Last Glacial Maximum 11.1.4 The Deglaciation and the Younger Dryas 11.1.5 Early and Middle Holocene Environments 11.2 Lakes, Megafauna, and Early Humans in the Basin 11.2.1 Megafaunal Sites 11.2.2 Pleistocene Human Occupations in the Basin of Mexico 11.2.3 Preceramic Human Remains and Sites 11.2.4 Rock Promontories and Early Humans in the Lacustrine Realm 11.3 Preceramic Societies Around the Lakes 11.3.1 Archaeological Findings and Their Chronology 11.3.1.1 Zohapilco 11.3.1.2 San Gregorio Atlapulco 11.3.1.3 Tepexpan 11.3.1.4 Chicoloapan 11.3.1.5 Texcoco 11.3.2 Environmental Change and the Path to Sedentarism and Agriculture Chapter 12: The Lakes During the Agricultural Era 12.1 Climatic Changes, Lake Levels, and Settlements 12.1.1 Millennial and Centennial Climatic Changes 12.1.2 Trends in Atmospheric Moisture and Lake-Level Fluctuations 12.2 Volcanism and Ecological Change 12.2.1 Volcanic Events and Population in the Holocene 12.2.2 The Xitle Eruption and Its Impact on Cuicuilco’s Surrounding Landscape 12.3 The Formative Period 12.3.1 The Lakes and the Earliest Agricultural Villages 12.3.2 Lacustrine Settlements Through the Formative Period 12.3.3 The Terminal Formative-Classic Transition Viewed from the Lakes 12.4 The Classic and Postclassic Periods 12.4.1 The Lacustrine Geography of the Basin of Mexico During the Classic Period 12.4.2 The Lakes During the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic Periods 12.4.3 Lacustrine Settlement Expansion During the Middle and Late Postclassic Periods 12.5 Patterns of Long-Term Appropriation of Lacustrine Environments 12.5.1 Settlement Patterns Across the Lacustrine Realm 12.5.2 The Late Postclassic Appropriation of Lacustrine Spaces Chapter 13: Late Aztec Settlement, Hydraulic Management, and Environment 13.1 Prevailing Views and Questions About Tenochtitlan 13.1.1 The Environmental Significance of Tenochtitlan 13.1.2 Historical Sources 13.1.3 The Ethnohistory and Archaeology of Tenochtitlan and Its Surroundings 13.1.4 Research Questions 13.2 The Original Landscape of Tenochtitlan 13.2.1 The Elusive “Primitive” Islands 13.2.2 Historical Sources and Archaeological Records 13.2.3 The Original Landscape of Tenochtitlan Through Toponyms 13.2.4 The Stratigraphy Below the City 13.2.5 Geophysical and Geotechnical Research Studies 13.3 Hydraulic Technology, Floods, Navigation, and Agriculture 13.3.1 Water Flows Across the City and Its Surroundings 13.3.2 The Dikes of Nezahualcoyotl and Ahuitzotl 13.3.3 Infrastructure in the Shadow of Large Dikes and Causeways 13.3.4 The Chinampa Systems in the Western Part of Lake Texcoco 13.3.5 The Lacustrine Landscape Beyond Tenochtitlan 13.4 The Development of Tenochtitlan as an Environmental Dynamic Process 13.4.1 A Dynamic Environmental Model 13.4.2 Long-Term Changes in the Evolution of the City 13.4.3 Seasonal Hydraulic Dynamics in the Context of Long-Term Lake-Level Changes Chapter 14: The Lakes After 1519: War, Floods, and Drainage 14.1 The Lacustrine Landscapes of the War of Conquest 14.1.1 The Strategic Importance of Insular Settlements 14.1.2 A Battlefield Geography (1519–1521) 14.1.3 Lacustrine Dynamics and Features in the Chronicles of the Conquest 14.1.4 The Brigantines and the Naval Battle of Lake Texcoco 14.2 Dynamic Lakes, Floods, and Drainage 14.2.1 A Non-Lacustrine Society Settles on the Lake 14.2.2 The Colonial Desagüe Projects 14.2.3 The Desagüe After Independence 14.3 The Desiccation of the Lakes in Retrospect 14.3.1 The Prediction and Realization of an Ecological Disaster 14.3.2 Water Management or Drainage? A History of Adaptive Decisions Chapter 15: Lacustrine Systems and Societies in the Basin of Mexico 15.1 The Lakes of the Basin of Mexico 15.1.1 The Overall Picture of the Lacustrine Realm 15.1.2 Lake Texcoco 15.1.3 Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco 15.1.4 Lakes Xaltocan and Zumpango 15.1.5 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Lakes 15.2 The Development of a Lacustrine Culture and Technology 15.2.1 Lacustrine Subsistence 15.2.2 The Development of Wetland Agriculture 15.2.3 Lakes as Marginal Land and the Postclassic Demographic Phenomenon 15.2.4 Environmental and Technological Thresholds 15.2.5 The Origin and Development of Tenochtitlan 15.3 Prospects for Research on the Lakes of the Basin of Mexico Abbreviations Glossary References Index