Laguna de Aljojuca, Mexico 4000 Year Stable Isotope and Geochemical Data Bhattacharya, T.; Byrne, A.R.; Bohnel, H.; Wogau, K.; Kienel, U.; Ingram, B.L.; Zimmerman, S.R.H. Bhattacharya, T. Byrne, A.R. Bohnel, H. Wogau, K. Kienel, U. Ingram, B.L. Zimmerman, S.R.H. drought earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (age,null,95% confidence interval upper bound,calendar year before present,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (age,null,95% confidence interval upper bound,calendar year before present,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,Bayesian age model created with BACON) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,Bayesian age model created with BACON) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (delta 18O,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (delta 13C,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (age,null,95% confidence interval lower bound,calendar year before present,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,Bayesian age model created with BACON) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (titanium,dry sediment,null,parts per million,null,paleolimnology,null,x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (zirconium,dry sediment,null,parts per million,null,paleolimnology,null,x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (aluminum oxide,dry sediment,null,percent,null,paleolimnology,null,x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (age,null,95% confidence interval lower bound,calendar year before present,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (calcium oxide,dry sediment,null,percent,null,paleolimnology,null,x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (principal component,null,null,dimensionless,null,paleolimnology,null,x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,N,first principal component of XRF data) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (Laguna de Aljojuca>LATITUDE 19.0915>LONGITUDE -97.5338) There is currently no consensus on the importance of climate change in Mesoamerican prehistory. Some invoke drought as a causal factor in major cultural transitions, including the abandonment of many sites at 900 CE, while others conclude that cultural factors were more important. This lack of agreement reflects the fact that the history of climate change in many regions of Mesoamerica is poorly understood. We present paleolimnological evidence suggesting that climate change was important in the abandonment of Cantona between 900 CE and 1050 CE. At its peak, Cantona was one of the largest cities in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, with a population of 90,000 inhabitants. The site is located in the Cuenca Oriental, a semiarid basin east of Mexico City. We developed a subcentennial reconstruction of regional climate from a nearby maar lake, Aljojuca. The modern climatology of the region suggests that sediments record changes in summer monsoonal precipitation. Elemental geochemistry (X-ray fluorescence) and d18O from authigenic calcite indicate a centennial-scale arid interval between 500 CE and 1150 CE, overlaid on a long-term drying trend. Comparison of this record to Cantona's chronology suggests that both the city's peak population and its abandonment occurred during this arid period. The human response to climate change most likely resulted from the interplay of environmental and political factors. During earlier periods of Cantona's history, increasing aridity and political unrest may have actually increased the city's importance. However, by 1050 CE, this extended arid period, possibly combined with regional political change, contributed to the city's abandonment. STUDY NOTES: Fluctuations in climate over the past 4000 cal. years BP reconstructed from elemental geochemistry (XRF) data and d18O data of authigenic carbonates from Aljojuca maar lake in the Oriental Basin in Puebla, Mexico. Lake sediment core chronology established using AMS radiocarbon dating of terrestrial material. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Bhattacharya, T. Investigator : Byrne, A.R. Investigator : Bohnel, H. Investigator : Wogau, K. Investigator : Kienel, U. Investigator : Ingram, B.L. Investigator : Zimmerman, S.R.H. 2015-01-26 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/17735 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/northamerica/mexico/aljojuca2015xrf.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/northamerica/mexico/aljojuca2015iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/northamerica/mexico/aljojuca2015xrf.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/northamerica/mexico/aljojuca2015iso.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/17735 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/northamerica/mexico/aljojuca2015xrf.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/northamerica/mexico/aljojuca2015iso.txt Tripti Bhattacharya, Roger Byrne, Harald Bohnel, Kurt Wogau, Ulrike Kienel, B. Lynn Ingram, and Susan Zimmerman2015Cultural implications of late Holocene climate change in the Cuenca Oriental, MexicoProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences10.1073/pnas.1405653112http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/01/21/1405653112.abstract START YEAR: 4139 cal yr BP * END YEAR: -65 cal yr BP -97.5338 19.0915 -97.5338 19.0915