The Ancient Civilization

After finding these results, the authors linked the growth and collapse of the Maya civilization directly to the climatic results they found. Although the Cariaco can not totally explain the relationship between climate conditions and the Maya collapse, it still supports that the changes in rainfall was an important factor. They first suggest that the enlargement of the Maya civilization between 550 and 750 A.D. was due to relatively wet conditions. The Ti concentrations are much higher right before the Terminal Classic Collapse period. Not only were they expanding, but they were expanding to the limit of what the environment can sustain making them largely susceptible to drought. Between 750 and 950 A.D., the

The collapse of the Mayan Empire is one of history’s greatest mysteries. It was one of the most advanced and developed civilizations of its time period, reining during the Pre-Classic period and into the Classic and Post-Classic Periods (2000 B.C. – 900 A.D.). The territory stretched from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, down to modern day El Salvador in Central America. Its achievements were monumental for the era, being the first empire communicating with the use of a written language having over 800 symbols and producing the first 365 day calendar. They maintained an in-depth understanding of astrological cycles that would assist in planning harvesting cycles and predicting solar eclipses. The Mayan’s

An interesting question to ask oneself about ancient civilizations is “How did the various governments keep their respective populations under control?” By taking a look at some of the literature and forms of art, one can get an idea of the crafty techniques used by leaders to control the populace. The concept of social control has been around as long as civilizations have been. This can be seen in the Roman stoic ideals portrayed in the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Four Noble Truth’s teachings in India, and the emphasis on harmony in China with the Chinese Bronze Bell. It’s interesting to see the ways works of art and even religious texts were used to control the common people.

In the early 8th century, the Maya city-state of Tikal were known to eclipse all rivals, becoming the most populous polity in the Americas. As many as 62,000 Maya nobles, artisans, and others squeezed into Tikal’s crowded residential districts in what is now Guatemala. During the century that followed, however, Tikal fell on hard times. Its building boom collapsed, its artists ceased to carve hieroglyphic inscriptions and paint murals, population plummeted, and its kings vanished. The author in this article argues that Tikal was not alone to suffer such horrific disintegration. Because elsewhere 324,000-square-kilometer area spanning southeastern Mexico and upper Central America dozens of other city-states also crumbled between 695 and 1050

These emerging civilizations were much larger than the earlier ones of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and Shang China – displaying more complex political, economic, cultural, and military organization. All civilizations traded with others and many conquered new territories. Classical civilizations include those such as Zhou and Han China, the Gupta Empire in India, and the Mediterranean civilizations of Greece and Rome.

Therefore, this study will begin with modern day Maya farmers in Copán, Honduras which collapsed at the same time as Tikal. Many Maya still live near Copán and farm like their ancestors. In order to sustain the current population, these farmers do not have the luxury to allow the land to rejuvenate after a harvest. The land is in continuous use, resulting in exponentially decreasing quality and crop production (“Collapse”). If the Maya at Tikal, under pressure from over population, employed the same farming techniques, it is easy to see how unsustainable agriculture would cause starvation and abandonment of the city. Erosion of the topsoil caused by excessive tillage and deforestation would result in land that was not agriculturally viable. Chemical analysis of the soil, creation of a stratigraphic sequence of the site, and relative or carbon dating of artifacts will be instrumental in establishing evidence of erosion around 900 A.D. Deforestation can also have an impact on meteorological conditions and increase the effects of a drought. Ground temperatures would increase and water would evaporate, further desiccating the land and any potential crops (Oglesby). Lack of food and water would have led to desperation, anger, and warfare, further depleting valuable resources. Verification of a drought during the fall of Tikal can be verified through dendrochronology, core samples from local lakes, and pollen analysis. Pollen analysis will help determine if the land had been cleared, while dendrochronology and the core samples will provide data on weather conditions. Paleopathological techniques on recovered skulls and bones can provide insight into any patterns of malnutrition and related diseases such as anemia. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis will be used to establish the Maya diet before the

Massive temples hidden in the jungles of the Yucatan, mysterious stone stelas, and cryptic calendars eluding to advanced knowledge of the stars and mathematics are just some of the artifacts originating from the “Classic Maya” period (200 CE-900 CE). However, these popular items should not be the only defining characteristics of a society that dominated the Mesoamerican region for nearly a millennia. Dynastic lines, similar to those found in European houses, were important elements during this period in places like Palenque, Tikal, and Calakmul. Additionally, the Maya experienced violent and consistent warfare between localized powers and the backbone of their society, agriculture, suffered through several multi-year droughts. These factors

The question of what factors lead the Mayan’s to their end is arguably history 's most enduring mystery. Every society has its rise, and inevitable fall. However, none have fallen quite like the Classic Maya society. Like many civilizations, the fall of the Classic Maya society hinged on the back of many contributing factors over the time span of 660-900 A.D. There are many contributing factors that contributed to the demise of the society. These factors consisted of climate change, deforestation, warfare, famine, and overpopulation. I am going to tell you why climate change more specifically droughts perhaps to the Mayan’s own doing was the most important factor that leads to the eventual demise of the their society. However first we must understand what predeceased the fall, which was a rather thriving society, arguably the strongest one at the time.

The authors main argument in this article talks about the idea that a confluence of factors collectively combined to doom the Maya. They argue that although the unusual shift in atmospheric patterns created by Climate change during the terminal classic era, may have significantly triggered the destabilization of the Maya society. However, other issues such as environmental degradation, hillside erosion, and increased internal warfare may have also played an important part to their downfall. They focused initially on making measurements of x-ray fluorescence using a core scanner then determined the titanium and iron concentration at 2-millimeter spacings over a sediment section of interest. In their focus on tracking only titanium they

The main argument of this article addresses how human-environment interactions played a part in the Maya depopulation of the central lowlands during the late classic period. They argue that climate change, especially the lack of sufficient rainfall played a major role in understanding the classic period collapse of the central Maya lowlands. The authors alluded to the evidences that indicated that the terminal classic period was wrecked by its severe droughts of 3-18 years in length in which precipitation dwindled by 36-52% below standard mean. These regional declines in precipitation and massive reduction in food production caused various places such as Palenque, Copan, Tikal, and Calakmul to experience tremendous stress on cultivation and

Webster’s investigation into the Mayan Collapse in his book The Fall of the Ancient Maya is quite lengthy for the number of conclusions he makes. In fact, he spends his last chapter of the book explaining that, as much as we may want it, there is no clear cut answer currently for why the Mayan civilization fell. He shares his ideas concerning Mayan overpopulation, warfare, competition between nobles, and an ideological decline but does not claim to be infallible in his assertions, and instead insists that we as readers should make up our own mind about what happened to the Mayans. As such, I prefer the migration hypothesis of the Mayan collapse, which hypothesizes that the Mayan population rotated around Mayan territory, shifting their residence based on the availability of resources, perceived competency of leadership, and the threat of conflict, until they finally exhausted all available space to them and were left with no place to go. This theory of collapse incorporates much of what Webster claims to be central to the Mayan collapse while also providing a very logical story as to how it occurred, but without further evidence, cannot be proven. Regardless, this sort of exploration into the Mayans has widened the lens with which societal collapse is inspected. Webster’s wealth of research into the Mayans brought factors that had previously been overlooked in other societal collapses, namely his ideas of an ideological

published in Science magazine, between 820 and 870 A.D., the Maya received 40 percent less rainfall than in prior decades. Scientists surmise that the lack of rainfall tore at the social fabric of the Maya civilization. The findings are based on the

Chichén Itzá during the terminal classic period were known to dominate the political landscape of the northern Yucatán region. The main argument of the authors in this article is that the political collapse at Chichén Itzá mainly coincided with the longest and most severe drought recorded in regional climate records during the “dark age”. In which many hieroglyphic texts with specific calendar dates declined by 75% in the Maya lowlands in addition to most areas deserted completely during the end of the Terminal Classic era. These sequential patterns in their argument showcases a strong correlation between political disintegration and climatic stress in the case of the Maya lowland collapse. In this paper they explore the both the climatic and

You made several interesting points in your discussion post regarding the collapse of the Mayan Civilization. Most of the theories that address the collapse of the Mayans refer to a severe drought that occurred. The drought caused devastating living conditions that did not allow the Mayans to have water for things like bathing, hydration, or growing crops (Duiker and Spielvogel). The most interesting point that you mentioned in your post was that you did not think the Mayans could have stopped or prevented their collapse. You briefly mentioned deforestation in your post but did not go into detail about it. The Mayans practiced a large amount of deforestation, which can cause a decreased amount of water between the atmosphere and the ground.

Monuments are resilient and commemorative structures that are significant to cultures or social groups. They may tell the tale of an event or celebrate or revere a person or God. Mayan stelae monuments are monuments that were fashioned by the Maya civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. They consist of tall sculpted stone shafts and