Maya civilization during the classic period reached its peak in the central region around the eighth century with powerful city-states such as Tikal, Copan, Palenque, and Cobah flourishing and spreading from southern Mexico to northern Honduras. However, this glorious age was soon followed by a marked decline, with diminished populations, a reduction in building and art production, an increased obsession with warfare and military fortification. New discoveries and newly deciphered stone carvings provides evidences indicating that the Maya warred frequently and viciously among themselves. Many scholars have attributed this to the increased pressure from the militaristic Teotihuacan culture of the Valley of Mexico as a contributing factor. War
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800 and 925 CE saw one of the most dramatic civilization collapses in history. Within a century or so the flourishing Classic Maya civilization fell into a permanent decline. Majority of archeologists have proposed theory indicating that the Maya collapse could be attributed to three seemingly parallel set of variables: (1) Climate change, population instability, disease, and nutritional stress; (2) Agricultural intensification, degradation of agrarian landscape; and (3) Mono-cropping in which the same identical crop was planted year after year without practicing crop rotation or resting the soil. Production levels on dryland outfield plots cropped in maize decrease immensely over time, because of the decline in soil nutrients critical for plant growth. Maya kings monopolized artificial reservoirs and other water sources during annual drought as a way to adapt during the …show more content…
So, as a result majority of Maya polities experienced incredible depopulation. Famine and other agricultural calamity affecting these basic crops could certainly might have caused the downfall of the ancient Maya. Scientists have long also attributed climate change as a huge contributor in the fall of the Mayan civilization. Many hieroglyphic texts with specific calendar dates declined by 75% in the Maya lowlands. Abandonment of palaces/temples, halt in monumental architecture/ sculpture, the Substantial decline in the use of hieroglyphic writing all occured during the end of the Terminal Classic era. However, the series of droughts that occurred during the Maya collapse affected people in various different ways. In particular, people living in the northern Yucatán were only somewhat dependent on seasonal rains, whereas others heavily depended heavily on seasonal rains. And so many archeologists have suggested that ideology and political organization must be considered when examining Classic Maya social organization during the terminal classic
800 and 925 CE saw one of the most dramatic civilization collapses in history. Within a century or so the flourishing Classic Maya civilization fell into a permanent decline. Majority of archeologists have proposed theory indicating that the Maya collapse could be attributed to three seemingly parallel set of variables: (1) Climate change, population instability, disease, and nutritional stress; (2) Agricultural intensification, degradation of agrarian landscape; and (3) Mono-cropping in which the same identical crop was planted year after year without practicing crop rotation or resting the soil. Production levels on dryland outfield plots cropped in maize decrease immensely over time, because of the decline in soil nutrients critical for plant growth. Maya kings monopolized artificial reservoirs and other water sources during annual drought as a way to adapt during the …show more content…
So, as a result majority of Maya polities experienced incredible depopulation. Famine and other agricultural calamity affecting these basic crops could certainly might have caused the downfall of the ancient Maya. Scientists have long also attributed climate change as a huge contributor in the fall of the Mayan civilization. Many hieroglyphic texts with specific calendar dates declined by 75% in the Maya lowlands. Abandonment of palaces/temples, halt in monumental architecture/ sculpture, the Substantial decline in the use of hieroglyphic writing all occured during the end of the Terminal Classic era. However, the series of droughts that occurred during the Maya collapse affected people in various different ways. In particular, people living in the northern Yucatán were only somewhat dependent on seasonal rains, whereas others heavily depended heavily on seasonal rains. And so many archeologists have suggested that ideology and political organization must be considered when examining Classic Maya social organization during the terminal classic