The ancient Mayan Civilization was one of history’s greatest. The Mayan achieved remarkable scientific innovations that our culture further benefits from today. These advances include that of the cosmic calendar, allowing the prediction of solar eclipses and the understanding of other celestial bodies, stunningly intelligent architectural temples and entire royal cities, engineering teachings, mathematical inventions, and advanced communications. The explanation of this phenomenal empire’s collapse is seeked my many, misinterpreted by some, questioned and theorized by most, and is today still unrevealed.
Early historians and scholars produced concepts of singular events causing the fall of this grand civilization. These theories involved sudden …show more content…
This empire was constructed of city-states. “Mayan culture was well established by 1000 BCE, and it lasted until 1697 CE. All Maya shared a common culture and religion, but each city governed itself and had its own noble ruler.” -Baquedano, Elizabeth. Throughout the gradual collapse, some city-states simply faded, failing to continue designing new works of art and public displays of hieroglyphic writings, and abandoning households or entire cities. There is documentation of royal dynasties disappearing swiftly, and alarming depopulation of otherwise prosperous cities. Other capable and influential city-states fell by means of exterior invasion, and conniving attackers. Evidence was found recently in mayan ruins proving poisoned well water through disposing of dead bodies, beaten and disrespected mayan stone monuments left face down on the dirt, and other signs of ritualistic killings. Historically, mayans are acknowledged for their monumental record keeping, but there is no written dates on public monuments past c.910CE, during which armed conflicts rose, and trade declined. Foreign invaders became a continuous threat as the empire weakened from the outside, …show more content…
Infact, scholars today approximate this collapse to have taken about one hundred and fifty to two hundred years to be concluded, ruling out any sudden catastrophe theories such as those of disease and natural disaster. Following this verdict comes the analysis of a multitude of factors producing the fall of the empire, rather than a simple one. The three factors most commonly agreed upon today are: warfare between city-states, overpopulation, and drought. To add another important fact to this list, social disorder, as it provides a description of the interior conflict the civilization experienced, which ultimately played a significant role in the empire’s fall. The concluding theory that is seemingly agreed upon by today’s historians is: as a result of rivalry amongst states, increasing warfare within and exterior to the empire, and a faltering political system due to over taxation, the society’s system fell, causing a period of internal chaos and disorganization.
Conclusively, the ancient Mayan empire was culturally and intellectually a contemporary and ingenious society, providing us with discoveries and inventions that we base our education upon. Our modern scholars and historians have logically and reasonably proven that an assembly of natural
Early historians and scholars produced concepts of singular events causing the fall of this grand civilization. These theories involved sudden …show more content…
This empire was constructed of city-states. “Mayan culture was well established by 1000 BCE, and it lasted until 1697 CE. All Maya shared a common culture and religion, but each city governed itself and had its own noble ruler.” -Baquedano, Elizabeth. Throughout the gradual collapse, some city-states simply faded, failing to continue designing new works of art and public displays of hieroglyphic writings, and abandoning households or entire cities. There is documentation of royal dynasties disappearing swiftly, and alarming depopulation of otherwise prosperous cities. Other capable and influential city-states fell by means of exterior invasion, and conniving attackers. Evidence was found recently in mayan ruins proving poisoned well water through disposing of dead bodies, beaten and disrespected mayan stone monuments left face down on the dirt, and other signs of ritualistic killings. Historically, mayans are acknowledged for their monumental record keeping, but there is no written dates on public monuments past c.910CE, during which armed conflicts rose, and trade declined. Foreign invaders became a continuous threat as the empire weakened from the outside, …show more content…
Infact, scholars today approximate this collapse to have taken about one hundred and fifty to two hundred years to be concluded, ruling out any sudden catastrophe theories such as those of disease and natural disaster. Following this verdict comes the analysis of a multitude of factors producing the fall of the empire, rather than a simple one. The three factors most commonly agreed upon today are: warfare between city-states, overpopulation, and drought. To add another important fact to this list, social disorder, as it provides a description of the interior conflict the civilization experienced, which ultimately played a significant role in the empire’s fall. The concluding theory that is seemingly agreed upon by today’s historians is: as a result of rivalry amongst states, increasing warfare within and exterior to the empire, and a faltering political system due to over taxation, the society’s system fell, causing a period of internal chaos and disorganization.
Conclusively, the ancient Mayan empire was culturally and intellectually a contemporary and ingenious society, providing us with discoveries and inventions that we base our education upon. Our modern scholars and historians have logically and reasonably proven that an assembly of natural