Collapse Throughout history there have been many civilizations and complex societies that have come and gone, these people were forced off their land by disease, human impact on the environment, warfare, and environmental and climate change all have been used by historians and archaeologist to explain the collapse of these civilizations. This essay will focus on two of these complex societies, the Mesa Verde region of the American Southwest and the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and exam the causes and the evidence for their collapse, and also what happened to the people that inhabited these areas after the complex societies they lived in collapsed.
Mesa Verde The Mesa Verde region is located on the Colorado plateau in the Four Corners …show more content…
Throughout this period there is a noticeable migration shift out of long occupied cities to cities that were easily defended against attack. The final destabilization and collapse of the Maya civilization came with the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century (Turner and Sabloff, 2012). Although the Maya people continue to live in this same region as their ancestors and the language and many aspects of their culture and traditions continue to be used, it is not nearly to the scale that was at the peak of the Maya …show more content…
This forced the people of Mesa Verde and the Maya to move because of lack of food or threat from other groups looking for food. The one anomaly is the last collapse of the Maya people that was caused by the invasion of a highly advanced European power invading their land. I believe we have a lot to learn from these past societies, and we now have to opportunity to make a change in our own societies and the world before we see another collapse. The last chapter of Jared Diamond’s book Collapse concludes with “Thus, we have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of distant peoples and past peoples.” And that, “My hope in writing this book has been that enough people will choose to profit from that opportunity to make a difference” (Diamond,
Mesa Verde The Mesa Verde region is located on the Colorado plateau in the Four Corners …show more content…
Throughout this period there is a noticeable migration shift out of long occupied cities to cities that were easily defended against attack. The final destabilization and collapse of the Maya civilization came with the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century (Turner and Sabloff, 2012). Although the Maya people continue to live in this same region as their ancestors and the language and many aspects of their culture and traditions continue to be used, it is not nearly to the scale that was at the peak of the Maya …show more content…
This forced the people of Mesa Verde and the Maya to move because of lack of food or threat from other groups looking for food. The one anomaly is the last collapse of the Maya people that was caused by the invasion of a highly advanced European power invading their land. I believe we have a lot to learn from these past societies, and we now have to opportunity to make a change in our own societies and the world before we see another collapse. The last chapter of Jared Diamond’s book Collapse concludes with “Thus, we have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of distant peoples and past peoples.” And that, “My hope in writing this book has been that enough people will choose to profit from that opportunity to make a difference” (Diamond,