Tephrochronological evidence for the late Holocene eruption history of El Chichón Volcano, Mexico

Abstract

Pre-Columbian societies in the Maya Lowlands were repeatedly exposed to tephra-fall from past eruptions of El Chichón volcano, Chiapas, Mexico. Late Holocene tephra layers are well preserved in sediments of the Usumacinta-Grijalva river delta, about 150 km NNE of the volcano. A sediment core from the delta spans the last 2100 years, and was examined for tephra, pollen, palynomorphs and macrofossils. We used tephrochronology and palynology to reconstruct the timing, magnitude and impact of past eruptions. Seven of the ten recognised tephra layers are related to past eruptions of El Chichón volcano and show remarkable impacts of the eruptions. A large eruption around A. D. 539 had a dramatic effect on the core area of Maya civilisation and was probably responsible for the onset of the Maya Hiatus and a demographic shift towards the Usumacinta-Grijalva delta. The eruption also seems to have caused rapid environmental changes worldwide.