The Lakes of the Basin of Mexico Dynamics of a Lacustrine System and the Evolution of a Civilization

About this book

This book is a review of research on the prehistoric and historic evolution of the Basin of Mexico's lacustrine systems. Based on this review, the book presents a model of long and short-term natural lacustrine dynamics as the basis for understanding the processes of human adaptation and transformation of the aquatic ecosystems of the Basin of Mexico. Although only remains of the former lakes exist, the book stresses the importance of the knowledge of the former natural and cultural history of the lakes. In this sense, the book addresses the misconceptions and misinterpretations of the lakes that still exist in the literature and the media and that do not reflect the real nature of the lakes in the past. Therefore, the book attempts to not only feed into the local knowledge of the lakes, but also contribute to the worldwide knowledge of lacustrine dynamics and human populations that lived in and around them. The book should be of interest to geographers, geologists, archaeologists, natural historians and environmental scientists, civil engineers, city planners and those involved in the management of natural resources.

Contents

Part I: The Lakes: Approaches and Records of their Past and Present.- Chapter 1. Basin of Mexico and its lakes: Approaches and Research questions.- Chapter 2. Resources for Reconstructing the Ancient Lakes.- Chapter 3. Geographic Context and the Modern Environment.- Chapter 4. Geological Evolution of the Lacustrine Basins.- Chapter 5. Recent Sediments and Landforms.- Chapter 6. Lacustrine Change in the Late Quaternary.- Part II The lakes: Geography and Environmental Dynamics.- Chapter 7. A Geographic Sketch of the Historic Lakes.- Chapter 8. Models of Lacustrine Dynamics and Environments.- Chapter 9. Cultural Features in the Lacustrine Realm.- Chapter 10. Models of Lacustrine Features and Settlement Development.- PART III Lacustrine Systems in the Evolution of Civilization.- Chapter 11. From the Upper Pleistocene to the Agricultural Beginnings.- Chapter 12. The Lakes during the Agricultural Era.- Chapter 13. Late Aztec Settlement, Hydraulic Management, and Environment.- Chapter 14. The Lakes after 1519: War, Floods, and Drainage.- Chapter 15. Lacustrine Systems and Societies in the Basin of Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Dr Carlos E. Cordova is a professor of geography at Oklahoma State University. He obtained his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997. He has taken undertaken fieldwork in the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia, the USA, Mexico and Southern Africa. His main research areas are geoarchaeology, geomorphology and biogeography, and focuses on the reconstruction of prehistoric and historic landscapes and environments.