HOLOCENE SEDIMENTATION ON ALLUVIAL FANS AND WETLAND FIELDS AT THE NUENDORF WETLAND FIELDS, BELIZE

Sedimentation on alluvial fans and their adjacent depressions leaves complicated records, especially in tropical forests. Here we focus on evidence for paleosols, sedimentation, and field formation in the little known, ancient Maya Nuendorf site and wetland fields and canals. This research brings together multiple layers of soil geomorphology proxy data in an effort to date sediment deposition and characterize human manipulation, sediment chemistry, and physical characteristics. We present new findings on Pb-210, radiocarbon dating, loss on ignition, magnetic susceptibility, XRF/XRD, and soil micromorphology of soil sequences from 2015 excavations. We then compare these data with the nearby ancient Maya sites and their alluvial fans and wetlands, where we have rich history of soil geomorphic, water chemistry, and archaeological data that show an agricultural presence that dates back over 4,000 years, complex sedimentation records, impacts of water chemistry, and human field construction. This work allows us to expand the geographic footprint of our previous studies of sedimentation rates over the Late Holocene in this Neotropical lowland. The paper will also correlate the sedimentation rates and formation processes with climate, hydrology, and human historical factors to suggest formation drivers.