TheMaya Region is cultural, first order subdivision ofMesoamerica, located in the eastern half of the latter. Thoughfirst settled byPalaeoindians by at least 10,000 BC, it is now most commonly characterised and recognised as the territory which encompassed theMaya civilisation in thepre-Columbian era.
The Maya Region is firmly bounded to the north, east, and southwest by theGulf of Mexico, theCaribbean Sea, and thePacific Ocean, respectively.[1][2] It is less firmly bounded to the west and southeast by 'zones of cultural interaction and transition between Maya and non-Maya peoples.'[3][2] The western transition between Maya andnon-Maya peoples roughly corresponds to theIsthmus of Tehuantepec, while the southeastern one roughly corresponds to a line running northwards from the mouth of theLempa River to that of theUlua River.[4][2][5][note 4]
The Maya Region is traditionally divided into three cultural and geographic, first order subdivisions, namely, theMaya Lowlands,Maya Highlands, and the Maya Pacific.[6][note 5] The Region's internal borders, like some of its external ones, are not usually precisely fixed, as they are rather demarcated by 'subtle environmental changes or transitions from one zone to another.'[7][8] Additionally, the Lowlands, Highlands, and Pacific are often further subdivided along similarly imprecise lines, giving rise to a myriad roughly-demarcated second order subdivisions for the Maya Region.[9][10]
The Maya Lowlands are a low-lyingkarstic plain stretching fromCampeche in Mexico through northern Guatemala and into northwestern Honduras, thereby encompassing all of theYucatan Peninsula and its abutting plains (including all of Belize).[11] The plain generally lies below 2,625 feet (800 m).[12][note 6] Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 77–95 °F (25–35 °C) and 20–120 inches (510–3,050 mm), respectively.[13]Wet seasons range from six to eleven months (usually starting in May or June), withdry seasons ranging from one to six months.[13][note 7]
The Maya Highlands are a geologically-active east-west band of peaks and valleys stretching fromTabasco in Mexico through central Guatemala and into northwestern Honduras, and generally topping 2,625 feet (800 m).[14][15] Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 59–77 °F (15–25 °C) and 80–120 inches (2,000–3,000 mm), respectively.[16] Wet seasons typically last eight months (May–December), with dry seasons typically compressed to four (January–April).[16][note 8]
The Maya Pacific, also known as the Pacific Coastal Plain, is a fertile volcanic-sedimentary plain stretching along the Pacific coast fromChiapas in Mexico through southern Guatemala and into western El Salvador.[17] Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 77–95 °F (25–35 °C) and 80–120 inches (2,000–3,000 mm), respectively.[18] Wet seasons typically last eight months (May–December), with dry seasons typically compressed to four (January–April).[18]
The Maya Region is 'one of the most varied environments on earth.'[19] Its terrain ranges from vast sea-level plains to near-inaccessible peaks topping 10,000 feet (3,000 m).[19][20] Its soils range from richalluvial and volcanic types to poorkarstic ones, resulting in vegetation ranging from lush to sparse.[19][8] Mean annual temperatures and rainfall range within 59–95 °F (15–35 °C) and 20–160 inches (500–4,000 mm), respectively.[21][22] Wet seasons range from six to eleven months, with dry seasons ranging from one to six months.[23][note 9] Surface freshwater is readily available year-round in some areas, and virtually absent in others.[7][24] Nonetheless, broadly speaking, the Region is described as featuring two geographic zones , namely, lowlands and highlands, with the former lying below circa 1,000–2,625 feet (305–800 m), and the latter above.[25][26] Naturally, lowlands are predominantly found within the Maya Lowlands and Pacific, with highlands generally restricted to the Maya Highlands.[26]
The Maya Region is generally described as having two climes, a cool, temperate one (prevalent in highlands), and a hot, tropical one (prevalent in lowlands).[19] Each of these experiences two seasons, a wet one, and a dry one. Rainfall in the wet season is usually heaviest during June and October, and is thereby described as 'following a double-peaked distribution.'[27]
Scholars had 'usually assumed that the climatic conditions which now [2010s] prevail in the Maya [Region] have always been the same, all through Maya prehistory and history[; b]ut recent palaeoclimatic research has challenged this assumption, revealing far more climatic fluctuation that previously anticipated.'[28][29]
Middle America, including the Maya Region, is thought to have taken shape sometime after 170 million years ago.[30] Its formation is thought to have 'involved [the] complex movement of [various] crustal blocks and terrains between the two pre-existing continental masses [ie North and South America].'[31] Details of the pre-Cenozoic portion of this process (ie 170–67 million years ago), however, are not widely agreed upon.[31][note 10] Nonetheless, it has been proposed that the northern Lowlands were subaerially exposed by some 150 million years ago.[32][33][note 11]
Details of the Cenozoic (ie 66–0 million years ago) geologic history of Middle America, including the Maya Region, are relatively more widely agreed upon.[31] In broad strokes, the Maya Highlands and Pacific are thought to have been subaerially exposed by some 40 million years ago, with these being initially separated from the northern Lowlands by the incipientBay of Honduras.[34] The Bay is thought to have closed by at least 20 million years ago, thereby finally linking the northern and southern portions of the Maya Region together.[35][36][note 12]
inc. end of eastwards migration of Chortis Block; inc. possible uplift of Chortis Block; inc. formation of Bay of Honduras ie initial linking of northern and southern portions of the Maya Region; cf[42]
The Maya Region's pre-Mesozoic crystalline basement is only exposed in the Mixtequita or Guichicovi Complex, the Chiapas Massif, the Altos Cuchumatanes, the Maya Mountains, and along the Chicxulub impact crater.[52] It is elsewhere blanketed by extensive Mesozoic sedimentary cover.[53][54]
^As perSharer & Traxler 2006, p. 24 within 10 mi (16 km) accuracy. However,Adams & Macleod 2000a, p. 200 give these values as 550 mi (890 km) and 350 mi (560 km), respectively.
^Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 28 draw the southeastern border as 'a line from the lower Lempa River in central El Salvador northward toLake Yojoa and along the Ulua River to theGulf of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea.'Adams & Macleod 2000a, p. 197 give the same as a line 'defined along the valleys of the Ulua [River], flowing north into the Caribbean, and the Lempa [River], running through central El Salvador to the Pacific.'
^However,Adams & Macleod 2000a, p. 200 give the Region's traditional first order subdivisions as either (i) the Northern Lowlands, the Southern Lowlands, and the Highlands (including the Pacific), or as (ii) the Northern, Central, and Southern Areas.Carrasco 2006, article 'Mesoamerica' sec. 'Overview' para. 6, for instance, employ the first of these subdivisions (labelled (i)), whileCoe & Houston 2015, ch. 1, fig. 1, and sec. 'Areas' employ the latter (labelled (ii)). Furthermore, some scholars prefer a simpler division of the Region intotwo first order subdivisions, namely, (i) the Lowlands and the Highlands (including the Pacific), or (ii) the Northern and Southern Areas.Adams & Macleod 2000a, pp. 203–204, for instance, employ the first of these (labelled (i)), while xx employ the latter (labelled (ii)).
^Wet seasons given as lasting eight months, from May through December, inCoe & Houston 2015, ch. 1, sec. 'Setting,' para. 11.
^Wet seasons given as lastingseven months, 'roughly from May through early November,' inCoe & Houston 2015, ch. 1, sec. 'Setting,' para. 3.
^ThoughAdams & Macleod 2000a, p. 202 assert a June–November wet season, without immediately noting variation in its start-date nor duration.
^Bundschuh & Alvarado 2012, p. 10 suggest that geologic models of the formation of Middle America differ most significantly in their handling of the Caribbean Plate, with one group of models proposing its formation in the Pacific and subsequent movement to its present location, and another group proposing its formation in its present location.
^However, it has been further proposed that this portion of the Lowlands was subsequently re-submerged during 130–72 million years ago, with thick carbonate deposition beginning by at least 80 million years ago (DTM 2013, sec. Mesozoic maps nos. NAM_key-130Ma_EarK to NAM_key-72Ma_LateK,Ahmad & Escalona 2014, sec. 'Introduction' and sec. 'Preliminary Results').
^The northern and eastern coasts of the Region, however, are not thought to have been fully subaerially exposed until some 5–2 million years ago (DTM 2013, sec. Cenozoic maps nos. NAM_key-5Ma_Plio and NAM_key_Pleist_Wisc). The Region's coastlines, which were initially more expansive than its present-day ones, are thought to have reached modern dimensions due to rising sea levels some 11–8 thousand years ago (DTM 2013, sec. Cenozoic maps nos. NAM_key_Present and NAM_key_Pleist_Holo).
^Alternative models date the formation of the present-day Caribbean to during 130–80 million years ago (Bundschuh & Alvarado 2012, p. 211).
^Event recorded by 'a well-dated, 120 Ma-old subduction complex along the northern edge of the Chortis block presently exposed on the southern margin of the Motagua valley of Guatemala' (Bundschuh & Alvarado 2012, p. 212). Dated toLate Cretaceous byGómez-Pompa et al. 2003, pp. 32–33.
^Alternative divisions of the Maya Region into geologic provinces have been offered, for instance, byBundschuh & Alvarado 2012, p. 77, fig. 3.1.
^Evenick ID is the unique basin identifier ie UBI as perEvenick 2021, app. A supp. no. 1. The Evenick ID for the Limon–Bocas del Toro Basin is not given inEvenick 2021, app. A supp. no. 1, though falls within 353–365, inclusive, given the alphabetical assignment of identifiers used therein.
^Additionally, a northeastern portion of the Maya Region, in theIsthmus of Tehuantepec, might extend beyond the Maya Block into the neighbouring Oaxaquia Block ie the Juarez, Cuicateco, or Oaxaquia Block, Terrane, or microcontinent (Ross et al. 2021, p. 243, fig. 1).
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