ON THE ARID MARGIN - THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CLIMATE, HUMANS AND THEENVIRONMENT - A REVIEW OF EVIDENCE FROM THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL MEXICO

There has long been speculation as to the relationship between climate , humans and the environment. Until recently, however, it has proved d ifficult to establish the degree to which these factors are interlinke d. Here we draw on evidence that has recently emerged from a series of investigations in central Mexico to evaluate the long-term human impa ct on the environment and to establish the impact that late Holocene c hanges in the climate have had on the indigenous populations that live d on the arid frontier of Mesoamerica. Data from these studies indicat e that: 1) the indigenous peoples of central Mexico had a significant and often detrimental impact on the landscape, causing widespread land degradation; 2) The onset of anthropogenic accelerated erosion coinci ded with the introduction of sedentary agriculture in this region; 3) Fluctuations in the climate of central Mexico over the last 4,000 year s have had a significant impact on the subsistence strategies of the p opulation which extended its territory into the northern arid lands du ring wetter periods, but rapidly abandoned these areas when the climat e became drier.