Factors Which Enhance Urban Resilience in the Context of Societal Change

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

Dr. Cynthia Robin, of Northwestern University, along with colleagues from the US and Belize, will conduct research to study how a city can survive, and even thrive, during periods of political and environmental stress in society. As over half of the world lives in cities today, there is perhaps no more pressing question than: how can people create cities that are long-lived and successful? Archaeology is uniquely suited to answer questions about the longevity of cities, because archaeologists can excavate long periods and time and can thus examine the long-term history of human cities and assess why some cities succeed and other cities fail. The social, political, economic, and environmental pressures that modern people and cities face are not new and archaeology provides a means to evaluate how people in the past successfully and unsuccessfully dealt with challenges in establishing and maintaining cities. The data that archaeologists generate about why cities succeed or fail takes on renewed importance in today's world in which developing successful, long-lived cities is an imperative. Dr. Robin and her colleagues will train US and Belizean graduate and undergraduate students in archaeology. They will develop educational programs for the general public, as well as University students, to demonstrate how knowledge about the past is important for creating a better world today and foster interest in archaeology and the preservation of antiquities. Dr. Robin and her research team will examine how cities can develop socio-political and economic systems that allow them to withstand periods of political turmoil and environmental stress. The research will take place in northern Belize, Central America, a region that is peripheral to major power centers in PreColumbian Maya society. On the periphery of and at the crossroads between major power centers of the ancient Maya, cities in northern Belize were able to develop political and economic relations and resource extraction that allowed them to survive and thrive during periods of drought and political crisis that led to the decline and collapse of cities in core areas of Maya society. Research will focus on the city of Aventura that thrived while cities around it in core Maya areas collapsed. The research team will survey and map the city of Aventura using state of the art laser and digital technologies. They will conduct test excavations across the city to understand a broad swath of the city and completely excavate three building groups to gain more in depth knowledge. Through the archaeological survey and excavation of Aventura's 2500 year history, Dr. Robin and her research team will analyze archaeological, botanical, soil science, and osteological evidence to determine how this city succeeded when others failed.