Sinkhole Microcosms: Understanding Persistence of Place Through Variable Cultivation Strategies in Northeastern Yucatán, Mexico

Abstract Sinkholes contributed to persistent human inhabitation of the northern Yucatán peninsula of Mexico for more than two millennia. Building on previous work on the use of sinkholes central to the town of Tahcabo and elsewhere in the Maya area, this study presents pollen, soil carbon isotope, radiocarbon, and artifactual evidence from four geomorphic features. They include the perennially wet cenote situated in the town center and three dry sinkholes ( rejolladas ) located in the commonly held lands ( ejido ) of the town. These features demonstrate striking variability in multispecies engagements with and within sinkholes, especially over the past 500 years, amid colonialism and more recent political contexts. Climate and political dynamics are implicated in the observed variability in agricultural practices. Community-engaged research often embraces a focus on persistent places, which can inspire contemporary people to reconnect with the past and with ancestors in ways that promote action to address challenges, such as adaptation to climate and other environmental change. Our research addresses long histories of sinkhole use to demonstrate the outcomes of variable cultivation strategies, such as increased biodiversity within towns and places of refuge, or conversely, production intensity and accelerated soil erosion into and mixing of sinkhole sediments.