The Hydraulic Engineering at Palenque

Palenque has what is arguably the most unique and intricate system of water management known anywhere in the Maya Lowlands.  The peculiarity of their hydraulic engineering most likely stems from its environmental setting, one with tightly constrained topographic limits.  As the settlement grew, the inhabitants had to design water features that would allow for densely spaced construction.  Some of the features, such as the subterranean aqueducts, limited erosion and flooding.  Others, like the water pressure system, allowed for water to be lifted.  New research on Palenque's spring-fed pools suggests locations for the washing of ceremonial clothes.  While the water management at most other Maya centers pertained to the storage (i.e. reservoirs) necessary to sustain the dry season, the Palenconos engineered a hydraulic system that dealt with an abundance of water and how to move it through the landscape in an efficient manner.  This paper will present an overview of previous and current research on the elaborate water management systems at Palenque.

Kirk French is a professional archaeologist and an authority on ancient Maya water management systems.  He began working with the water management of Palenque in 1998.  His dissertation, The Hydroarchaeological Approach: Understanding the Ancient Maya Impact on the Palenque Watershed, introduced a new method for measuring the effects of human impact on the environment. French concluded that the major cause for fluctuations in the water cycle at Palenque is landcover alteration (deforestation, urbanism, etc.) not climate change.In addition, French is working on the "Land and Water Revisited", a project that documents the effects of modern day urbanism on the Teotihuacan Valley of Mexico through ethnographic film.  In 1961, Penn State archaeologist William T. Sanders (1926 – 2008), filmed "Land and Water: An Ecological Study of the Teotihuacan Valley of Mexico".  This documentary captured a way of life that is all but gone in the Valley today due to the urban growth of Mexico City.  French has in his possession all of the outtakes and notes of the original film.  His goal is to return to the Teotihuacan Valley and record the changes through juxtaposition of past and present footage and with interviews of the local people. French's goal is to develop a better understanding of the interplay between humans and their surroundings by providing views of what landscape alteration can and has done to the environment through archaeology, watershed modeling, and ethnographic/documentary film.  Currently, he is a Lecturer of Anthropology at the Pennsylvania State University.