Editing Tikal (section)

=== Water reservoirs ===
Water reservoirs played a critical role in the development and maintenance of both Tikal and other [[Maya civilization|Maya]] cities. Though evidently serving as a body of water to draw from during the dry season and drought periods, water reservoirs also possessed a cultural and political significance.<ref name="Lucero-2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Lucero |first1=Lisa J. |last2=Gunn |first2=Joel D. |last3=Scarborough |first3=Vernon L. |date=June 2011|title=Climate Change and Classic Maya Water Management |journal=Water |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=479–494 |doi=10.3390/w3020479 |issn=2073-4441 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Hence, noteworthy investment was made by Maya societies into their reservoirs to ensure high water quality as well as consolidate political power.

Aside from Tikal, notable reservoirs are also present at '''[[Calakmul]]''', '''[[Caracol]]''', and '''[[Naranjo]]''', among others.<ref name="Lucero-2011"/>

==== Water quality maintenance ====
Human manipulation of the natural environment can result in unintended consequences. For instance, storing water not only can result in decreased [[water quality]] but also enable endemic diseases and pests, such as parasite-ridden flies and [[Malaria|malaria-bearing mosquitoes]], to flourish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miksic |first=John N. |title=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 9.1 |year=1999 |pages=167–184}}</ref> Additionally, fungal species can proliferate in improperly stored or stressed maize which can produce chemicals like [[aflatoxin]], a deadly liver [[carcinogen]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Normile |first=Dennis |date=2010-02-12 |title=Spoiling for a Fight With Mold |journal=Science |language=en |volume=327 |issue=5967 |pages=807 |doi=10.1126/science.327.5967.807 |pmid=20150484 |bibcode=2010Sci...327..807N |issn=0036-8075|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, the Maya were adept in constructing reservoirs that could guarantee high water quality. The Maya applied their knowledge of wetland biosphere ecology and ensured a balance of hydrophytic and macrophytic plants and other organisms. For example, the Maya widely adopted the dotleaf waterlily, ''[[Nymphaea ampla]],'' in their reservoirs' bodies of water. Dotleaf waterlilies, have bluish undersides that prevent passage of light and thus minimizes [[algae]] growth, inhibits evaporation, provides shade for predators of pests, removes nitrogen through their roots, and serves as an indicator of acidic conditions as water lilies cannot tolerate low pH levels;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaminsky |first=Amy K |url=https://experts.umn.edu/en/publications/water-liliesflores-del-agua-anthology-of-spanish-women-writers-fr |title=Water Lilies/Flores del agua: Anthology of Spanish Women Writers from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century |date=1995 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pearce |first=Jill J. |title=A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Water Hyacinth on Algal Growth and Water Quality. |publisher=Water Research Commission (Suid-Afrika) |year=1987}}</ref> low pH levels have been linked to tooth corrosion and disruption of gut homeostasis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hansen |first1=Tue H. |last2=Thomassen |first2=Mette T. |last3=Madsen |first3=Mia L. |last4=Kern |first4=Timo |last5=Bak |first5=Emilie G. |last6=Kashani |first6=Alireza |last7=Allin |first7=Kristine H. |last8=Hansen |first8=Torben |last9=Pedersen |first9=Oluf |date=2018-11-09 |title=The effect of drinking water pH on the human gut microbiota and glucose regulation: results of a randomized controlled cross-over intervention |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=16626 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-34761-5 |pmid=30413727 |pmc=6226457 |bibcode=2018NatSR...816626H |issn=2045-2322}}</ref> Lastly, lining the reservoir with clay was also intelligently applied to help stabilize water pH.<ref name="Lucero-2011" />

==== Role in political power ====
A significant proportion of royal power rested in what the ruling party could materially provide for their subjects (i.e. water during annual drought through massive artificial [[reservoir]]s). Hence, water and by extension, reservoirs became a significant part of the Maya [[power structure]]. This also means that a way for [[Maya Kings and Queens|Maya rulers]] to concentrate their power would be through proper water management.<ref name="Lucero-2008">{{Cite journal |last=Lucero |first=Lisa J. |date=2008-06-28 |title=Water Control and Maya Politics in the Southern Maya Lowlands |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1525/ap3a.1999.9.1.35 |journal=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=35–49 |doi=10.1525/ap3a.1999.9.1.35}}</ref> This created a feedback loop in which tools associated with water management became associated with Maya rulers. The association of clean water, [[Nymphaeaceae|water lilies]], and royal power is amply illustrated in the [[iconography]].<ref>Ford, A. Critical Resource Control and the Rise of the Classic Period Maya. In ''The Managed Mosaic: Ancient Maya Agriculture and Resource Use''; Fedick, S.L., Ed.; University of Utah Press: Salt Lake City, UT, USA; pp. 297–303.</ref><ref name="Lucero-2008" />

This also means that when water was mismanaged, the rulers were blamed for it. For example, in the Maya city of [[Caracol]] droughts peaked in the years 806, 829, 842, 857, 895, 909 921 and 935 A.D. Most importantly, the years between A.D. 804 and 938 show a 36% to 56% drop in precipitation. While the rulers were blamed and eventually moved away, the common people stayed.<ref name="Lucero-2011"/>