3. Fountains and Toilets
It was in 2009 that there was a study published by a group of archaeologists which discussed how the Mayan people utilized water pressure in the way they constructed both toilets and fountains. This study went against was had been the held belief that it was the colonizers from Spain who had been the first people in the region to know how to create water pressure.
The way in which this team came to this conclusion was after they had thoroughly investigated the manner in which the detailed water management system in a major Mayan city operated. The city in question was that of Palenque which is to be found in Chiapas, Mexico.
This was a place where more than 6,000 people lived and there were over 1,500 different structures. The ancient Mayans dubbed it Lakamha meaning “Big Water” as a result of the 56 springs, nine waterways and the lengthy trails of cascades that existed in the area. After conducting a comprehensive investigation of this intricate water management system, the team of archaeologists can to the conclusion that the people in Palenque had developed this advanced system that utilizes water pressure at the latest by 750 AD, with the likely chances being that it was actually developed even earlier than this date.
Palenque had a system that was intricate when it came to the management of water and it was well-renowned across the region. These had a complex system of subterranean aqueducts that would manage the streams that were spring-fed and these created a natural divide in the landscape as there otherwise was the chance of erosion or flooding occurring.
Running water in these cities of course was more of a luxury than a necessity. It is believed that the presence of running water was a significant sign of wealth as there was already water at hand. The people in the city of Palenque were always within 150 metres of a water source. While the Mayan people were known to have very simplified building structures, their expertise seemed to lay in intricate systems they engineered and implemented for water management in their major cities. Researchers are currently spending a lot of time focusing on hydroarchaelogy in an effort to identify population levels, droughts and patterns of settlement throughout various time periods in these significant cities. This is an area that could yield to more great discoveries about the history and evolution of the Mayan people.