[Science] Mayan plumbing design has scientists flush with excitement

[DAVIDE]

An exploration of Mayan ruins in Chiapas, Mexico, that involved both archaeology and civil engineering in a cross-disciplinary study has found new evidence for Mayan technical sophistication.As Live Science reports, Pennsylvania State University researchers have found that the Mayans both understood and could manipulate water pressure to the extent that the site involved in the study probably once featured flowing fountains, running water and perhaps basic flush toilets.
The Mayan city of Palenque is believed to have been at its peak 1,200 to 2,000 years ago, with a population of approximately 6,000 inhabitants. The site features extensive water management infrastructure designed to make use of the water from streams and springs that characterize the setting. One particular buried conduit stood out for the research team: it is more than 200 feet long, and unlike the other aqueducts that slope very gently and have consistent cross-sectional area throughout, this one features a notable slope and narrows markedly at the bottom. The design is for the express purpose of generating water pressure, and it is calculated that this feature could have sent fountain water spraying to a height of 20 feet.
The field work and its findings by anthropologist Kirk French and civil engineer Christopher Duffy offer the latest pieces of evidence supporting extensive technical knowledge and ability of the Maya, especially with regards to water management. Their research is currently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.


Source:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...95240b55987bd1

[DAVIDE]

[bleach]

This is interesting because it is the opposite of the problem most ancient civilizations faced with water: most had to direct it towards their cities and farmland, but the Mayans had too much and had to get rid of it.

Abstract from the article:

"Ancient cultures have a wide range of water control management techniques, each associated with a particular purpose, including water for consumption, agriculture, flood control, drought relief, and rituals (Scarborough 2003). One technique that has received limited archaeological attention is the purposeful creation of water pressure to perform useful work. Perhaps the earliest such example was found on the island of Crete in a Minoan palace and dates as early as 1400 BC. Terracotta pipe segments with graded diameter reductions were used to create fountains (Evans 1921-1935). Although gravity and the weight of water are the most efficient means of generating water pressure in a closed conduit, natural conditions (climate, geology, topographic slope, etc.) that might lead to the construction of water pressure systems are less clear. Here we show that the Classic Maya (AD 250–600) constructed a water pressure system with the potential to control the flow of water within an urban area. By burying a conduit along a steep ephemeral channel passing through a residential group, upland springs could be diverted to build pressure in the conduit to provide a dry-season supply of water. Up to 6 meters of hydraulic head could have been recovered to lift water from the pressurized conduit to a point of use. Water pressure systems were previously thought to have entered the New World with the arrival of the Spanish. Yet, archaeological data, seasonal climate conditions, geomorphic setting, and simple hydraulic theory clearly show that the Maya of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico had empirical knowledge of closed channel water pressure predating the arrival of Europeans."