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Did the repetitive drought drive the old Mayan city to decline?

Research Project

Project/Area Number 19KK0018
Research Category

Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research (B))

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Review Section Medium-sized Section 3:History, archaeology, museology, and related fields
Research InstitutionRitsumeikan University

Principal Investigator

Kitaba Ikuko  立命館大学, 総合科学技術研究機構, 准教授 (60631710)

Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) 大森 貴之  東京大学, 総合研究博物館, 特任研究員 (30748900)
山崎 彬輝  福井県里山里海湖研究所, 研究部門, 研究員 (30845607)
長屋 憲慶  福井県里山里海湖研究所, 研究部門, 研究員 (60647098)
中川 毅  立命館大学, 総合科学技術研究機構, 教授 (20332190)
那須 浩郎  岡山理科大学, 基盤教育センター, 准教授 (60390704)
Project Period (FY) 2019-10-07 – 2023-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
Budget Amount *help
¥18,330,000 (Direct Cost: ¥14,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,230,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥7,540,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,740,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥6,630,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,530,000)
Keywordsマヤ文明 / 極端気象 / 気候安定性 / 放射性炭素年代 / 気候変動 / 人間活動 / 年縞 / メキシコ / 気候の安定性 / 干ばつ
Outline of Research at the Start

マヤ文明の衰退に気候変動がおよぼした影響を探るため、メキシコのマヤの遺跡内にある湖で年縞堆積物を採取する。年縞とは、1枚の縞模様が1年の時間に相当する特殊な地層である。年縞に含まれる元素の変化を詳細に調べることで、数週間~数か月の時間スケールで起こる気候変動(極端気象)を、過去6,000年間にわたって復元する。さらに、顕微鏡による縞の観察と元素の変動パターンをもとに、年縞を数え上げる。この結果を多数の放射性炭素年代と統計的に組み合わせることで、データに最高精度の年代軸を与える。主観の入る余地のない、「圧倒的に」高品質な地質学的記録を歴史記録と比較することで、気候変動と文明衰退の因果関係に迫る。

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We collected annually laminated sediment core from Lake San Claudio, Mexico, located inside of a Mayan archaeological site, in order to investigate the causal relationship between climate change and the decline of the Maya civilization. Using the core, we reconstructed the history of extreme weather for the last 5,000 years. The result showed that the climate was particularly unstable for about 15 years around 900 CE. When compared with the record of the presence or absence of human settlements around the lake, the period during which humans abandoned the settlements coincided with the period when the climate became unstable. This implies that the increasing instability of climate constituted a part of the reason why the Classic Maya had to decline.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

地球温暖化とともに増加する極端事象の増加が危惧されている(IPCC第6次報告書など)。とくに農耕と定住を基本とする文明にとって(現代的文明はその典型例である)、短期間に「暴れる」気候は、長い時間をかけて大きく変動する気候よりもやっかいだ。極端気象が文明に与えるダメージを検証することができる、唯一の地質学的試料が年縞である。本研究によって、気候がいつどのように暴れた(=不安定化した)のか、そして暴れる気候によって文明がどのようなダメージを受けたのか、その実像に実証的に迫ることができた。

Report

(5 results)
  • 2022 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2021 Research-status Report
  • 2020 Research-status Report
  • 2019 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (13 results)

All 2023 Other

All Int'l Joint Research (10 results) Presentation (1 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 1 results) Remarks (2 results)

  • [Int'l Joint Research] Aberystwyth University(英国)

    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] University of Arizona(米国)

    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] GFZ Potsdam(ドイツ)

    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Middle Usumacinta Archaeological Project(メキシコ)

    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Aberystwyth University(英国)

    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] University of Arizona(米国)

    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] GFZ Potsdam(ドイツ)

    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] Aberystwyth University(英国)

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] University of Arizona(米国)

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] GFZ Potsdam(ドイツ)

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
  • [Presentation] Quasi-persistent rhythm in the climate and human activity recorded in a varved sediment from Mayan lowland2023

    • Author(s)
      Ikuko Kitaba, Takayuki Omori, Takeshi Nakagawa, Hiroo Nasu, Miguel Mollinedo, Henry Lamb, Sarah Davies, Kouhei Yamazaki, Saori Sakaguchi, Flory Pinzon, Kazuyoshi Nagaya, Tania Torres, Kazuki Kurahashi, Takeshi Inomata
    • Organizer
      XXI INQUA Congress 2023
    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Remarks] わにのにわのぼきんばこ

    • URL

      https://maya-varves.kas-sai.jp/

    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Remarks] わにのにわ(サン・クラウディオ年縞プロジェクトHP)

    • URL

      https://www.maya-varves.com/

    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report

URL: 

Published: 2019-10-10   Modified: 2024-01-30  

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