Exploring 12,000 years of coupled human – environment interactions in the tropical forests of the Bladen Nature Reserve, Belize
The Project
From the first humans, 12,000 years ago, through the adoption of agriculture, to the rise and fall of the Classic Maya civilisation, followed by 1000 years of undisturbed forest recovery, BLADEN LEGACY combines archaeology, palaeoecology, botany, remote sensing, and plant genetics to explore how humans have shaped tropical forest biodiversity.
Bladen Nature Reserve
The remote location has been largely untouched by humans, since the abandonment of the Classic Maya city, Ek Xux, one thousand years ago, allowing tropical forests to reclaim the landscape
The project partners with the Ya’axché Conservation Trust to document modern biodiversity for informed conservation management
Excavations provide unparalleled insight into over 12 thousand years of human history
The international team of scientists employ a range of methods from diverse disciplines to understand the long-term relationship between humans and their environment
