Methods and future directions for paleoclimatology in the Maya Lowlands Peter M.J. Douglas a, ⁎, Mark Brenner b , Jason H. Curtis b a Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States b Department of Geological Sciences & Land Use and Environmental Change Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, United States abstract article info Article history: Received 24 December 2014 Received in revised form 20 July 2015 Accepted 29 July 2015 Available online xxxx Keywords: Paleoclimatology Maya archeology Paleolimnology Speleothems Multi-proxy analysis Quaternary geochronology A growing body of paleoclimate data indicates that periods of severe drought affected the Maya Lowlands of southeastern Mexico and northern Central America, especially during the Terminal Classic period (ca. 800–950 CE), raising the possibility that climate change contributed to the widespread collapse of many Maya polities at that time. A broad range of paleoclimate proxy methods have been applied in the Maya Lowlands and the data derived from these methods are sometimes challenging for archeologists and other non-specialists to interpret. This paper reviews the principal methods used for paleoclimate inference in the region and the rationale for climate proxy interpretation to help researchers working in the Maya Lowlands make sense of paleoclimate datasets. In particular, we focus on analyses of speleothems and lake sediment cores. These two paleoclimate archives have been most widely applied in the Maya Lowlands and have the greatest potential to provide insights into climate change impacts on the ancient Maya. We discuss the development of chronologies for these climate archives, the proxies for past climate change found within them, and how these proxy variables are interpreted. Finally, we present strategies for improving our understanding of proxy paleoclimate data from the Maya Lowlands, including multi-proxy analyses, assessment of spatial variability in past climate change, combined analysis of climate models and proxy data, and the integration of paleoclimatology and archeology. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Ancient Lowland Maya civilization has long fascinated professional archeologists, adventurers, and tourists alike. There are many reasons why this distinctive pre-Columbian culture captivates the interest of so many. Among them is the fact that the ancient Maya built urban centers characterized by majestic architecture — without the help of the wheel or draft animals. The Maya also had deep knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, and developed a sophisticated writing system. They were skilled artisans who carved stone, created exquisite polychrome pottery and established complex trade systems. Further- more, ancient Maya was one of only a few prehistoric civilizations worldwide to achieve grandeur in the context of a lowland tropical forest environment. The ancient Maya attained great population densities on the Yucatan Peninsula and sustained themselves in a seemingly inhospitable region for some two millennia, ca. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. The protracted success of ancient Maya civilization may appear enigmatic, but perhaps even more curious is its decline near the end of the first millennium AD, the causes of which remain the subject of great debate in archeology. Early archeological excavations in the Maya area focused largely on ceremonial structures, elite burials and the treasures entombed within them. By the middle of the 20th century, biologists and earth scientists were beginning to collaborate with archeologists to address fundamen- tal questions about how the ancient Maya adapted to, managed and transformed the environment in which they arose, prospered and finally “collapsed.” It is no coincidence that early paleoenvironmental studies in the Maya Lowlands sought to reveal the impacts of ancient Maya agriculture and urbanism on local environments. Indeed, the notion that modern human societies could have a profound influence on their natural surroundings was gaining traction. Dramatic evidence came from many sources, including fires on the Cuyahoga River, Ohio in 1952 and 1969 (Rotman, 2014), realization in 1950 that air pollution (smog) in Los Angeles was largely attributable to automobiles, acknowledgment that lead contamination in industrial nations was anthropogenic (Patterson, 1965), discovery that the Love Canal (New York) was contaminated with dioxin and publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. The first Earth Day was celebrated in April 1970, testimony to the fact that the public, too, was becoming keenly aware of human–environment interactions. It was in this context that Ursula Cowgill and colleagues undertook the first paleolimnological (lake sediment) studies in the Maya Lowlands to in- vestigate relations between the ancient Maya and their environment (Cowgill et al., 1966). Global and Planetary Change xxx (2015) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: pdouglas@caltech.edu (P.M.J. Douglas). GLOBAL-02303; No of Pages 22 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.07.008 0921-8181/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Global and Planetary Change journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gloplacha Please cite this article as: Douglas, P.M.J., et al., Methods and future directions for paleoclimatology in the Maya Lowlands, Glob. Planet. Change (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.07.008