Mesoamerican urbanism revisited: Environmental change, adaptation, resilience, persistence, and collapse

A groundbreaking re-evaluation of Mesoamerican urbanism reveals that pre-Hispanic cities, such as Uxmal, were not merely defined by collapse but showcased resilience and adaptation to environmental changes. This study challenges traditional narratives by integrating archaeological advancements with sustainability science, highlighting the organizational diversity and adaptive strategies of these societies. By shifting focus from failure to empirical accounts of resilience, researchers offer valuable insights into urban adaptation mechanisms that could inform modern responses to climate change. The approach combines excavating, analyzing, and contextualizing archaeological materials to provide a synthetic perspective on Mesoamerican urbanism.

Chase, D. Z., Lobo, J., Feinman, G. M., Carballo, D. M., Chase, A. F., Chase, A. S. Z., Hutson, S. R., Ossa, A., Canuto, M., Stanton, T. W., Gorenflo, L. J., Pool, C. A., Arroyo, B., Liendo Stuardo, R., & Nichols, D. L. (2023). Mesoamerican urbanism revisited: Environmental change, adaptation, resilience, persistence, and collapse. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(31). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211558120