What happened to the civilization of
the ancient Maya?
The truth is, no one knows for sure.
It is a mystery, but there are some theories about what may have
caused Mayan civilization to collapse.
One theory is that the Maya were
conquered or seriously reduced in power by another tribe in Central
America. Another is that a natural disaster such as a hurricane,
earthquake, or plague caused the decline of the Mayas. Perhaps the
most plausible explanation has to do with what made it possible for
Mayan civilization to begin in the first place – food.
The Maya were able to build a
civilization of great cities, laws, writing, and math and science
because they were able to produce a surplus of food. If food is no
longer available in surplus, the civilization cannot survive.
Several things could have caused the
system of food production to collapse. One, the Mayan farmers may
have revolted. If the large labor force required to produce food for
the entire civilization leaves the farms, that is all she wrote.
Two, the cities may have outgrown the
ability of farmers to produce surplus food given the farming
technologies of the day. The Mayas used slash and burn agriculture,
and this tends to deplete soil fairly quickly.
Three, a particularly long drought or
series of droughts could have made it impossible to grow enough food
to support the Mayan cities. This theory, at least with regard to
the collapse of the cities in the Yucatan, was examined in a recent
National Geographic program – “Quest for the Lost Maya
.” The
episode examines new findings in the northern area of the Maya and
what they suggest about the civilization’s demise, among other interesting insights and conclusions.
.” The
episode examines new findings in the northern area of the Maya and
what they suggest about the civilization’s demise, among other interesting insights and conclusions.
Whatever happened to Mayan
civilization, its collapse is just another reminder that all
civilizations eventually come to an end.
