Sponsored by: Western Illinois Society
Ancient tropical societies dealt with the same issues we face today—climate instability, growing populations, overuse of resources, and so on. One of the major issues at present is growing concern about providing adequate supplies of clean drinking water. We can learn from past tropical societies, including the ancestral Maya of Central America, whose cities supplied clean water via sophisticated, self-cleaning reservoirs (i.e., constructed wetlands) for over 1,000 years. Their long-term success demonstrates the enduring usefulness of self-cleaning reservoirs or constructed wetlands, as I illustrate with the Classic Maya (c. 250-900 CE). I conclude with discussing the vital importance of preserving cultural heritage for descendants, tourism—and to benefit our future through the lessons the past embodies
Borowski lecture
Ancient tropical societies dealt with the same issues we face today—climate instability, growing populations, overuse of resources, and so on. One of the major issues at present is growing concern about providing adequate supplies of clean drinking water. We can learn from past tropical societies, including the ancestral Maya of Central America, whose cities supplied clean water via sophisticated, self-cleaning reservoirs (i.e., constructed wetlands) for over 1,000 years. Their long-term success demonstrates the enduring usefulness of self-cleaning reservoirs or constructed wetlands, as I illustrate with the Classic Maya (c. 250-900 CE). I conclude with discussing the vital importance of preserving cultural heritage for descendants, tourism—and to benefit our future through the lessons the past embodies
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