Migrasjon ved mayaenes Mensabak? Radiokarbondateringer i befolkningsendringsmodeller

In this article, I present a method to better understand the population development at Mensabak, a Maya village next to a lake system in the tropical Lacandon forest in Chiapas, Mexico. I use a dates-as-data approach to model prehistoric population dynamics combined with comparative studies from other areas in the Maya Lowlands. The radiocarbon dates provided in this project support previous knowledge that there were two main habitation periods at Mensabak. My findings also indicate that the Preclassic habitation period at Mensabak likely lasted longer than earlier believed and that there might have been a permanent settlement in Mensabak in the Classic Period, which was not previously demonstrated. Based on other studies, I discuss scenarios related to socio-political discontentment and conflict, a general restructure of settlements in the region and local problems with the water supply as a possible backdrop for the migration from Mensabak in the late and terminal Preclassic Period. This introduces some new perspectives and puts Noh K'uh in a greater context. This line of study is valuable for better understanding the causes and consequences of prehistoric migration and the interplay between urban and semi-urban areas in the periphery of a region.