Living in an advanced modern society, it is hard to believe that civilizations are capable of collapse. Many think that the rise of civilization is an impressive feat. However, in Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond outlines the five main factors that cause an entire civilization to fall. The Maya collapse is an example of a society that characterizes four of these factors. The first of these main factors is environmental damage that the inhabitants inflict upon themselves through actions like deforestation. In addition, naturally occurring climate change can be detrimental to a society at an inconvenient time. Similarly, Hostile neighboring societies are capable of influencing overall success. The fourth, but
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Relationships with others can greatly influence one’s success, but the Maya could not unite: “Maya armies and bureaucracies remained small and unable to mount lengthy campaigns over long distances” (Diamond 165). The inability to unite created hostility amongst neighboring civilizations, and the presence of the other factors at the same time made fighting worse. Diamond describes Maya warfare as “intense, chronic, and unresolvable, because limitations of food supply and transportation made it impossible for any Maya principality to unite the whole region in an empire…” (Diamond 172). Hostility amongst neighbors set further limitations on the civilization, adding one more factor that ultimately lead to …show more content…
All groups of people face problems, but how they improvise, adapt, and overcome is what builds a successful civilization. Originally, rulers came to power through their divine right to rule. The king of the Maya civilization could bring rain and prosperity, and had “the supernatural power to deliver because of his asserted family relationships to the gods” (Diamond 167). When they could not deliver, the king would get into trouble with the peasants. Obviously, the king was not fit to rule, and being incapable of solving problems is sure to lead to collapse. The Maya showed great potential with technology such as reservoirs that could help sustain the population, but it seems that the kings and nobles were more concerned with “enriching themselves, waging wars, erecting monuments, competing with each other, and extracting enough food from the peasants to support all those activities… the Maya kings and nobles did not heed long-term problems” (Diamond 177). The lack of concern for bettering the society and facing problems proved to be detrimental to the civilization’s success. When combined together, these various factors are sure to cause the collapse of a
Relationships with others can greatly influence one’s success, but the Maya could not unite: “Maya armies and bureaucracies remained small and unable to mount lengthy campaigns over long distances” (Diamond 165). The inability to unite created hostility amongst neighboring civilizations, and the presence of the other factors at the same time made fighting worse. Diamond describes Maya warfare as “intense, chronic, and unresolvable, because limitations of food supply and transportation made it impossible for any Maya principality to unite the whole region in an empire…” (Diamond 172). Hostility amongst neighbors set further limitations on the civilization, adding one more factor that ultimately lead to …show more content…
All groups of people face problems, but how they improvise, adapt, and overcome is what builds a successful civilization. Originally, rulers came to power through their divine right to rule. The king of the Maya civilization could bring rain and prosperity, and had “the supernatural power to deliver because of his asserted family relationships to the gods” (Diamond 167). When they could not deliver, the king would get into trouble with the peasants. Obviously, the king was not fit to rule, and being incapable of solving problems is sure to lead to collapse. The Maya showed great potential with technology such as reservoirs that could help sustain the population, but it seems that the kings and nobles were more concerned with “enriching themselves, waging wars, erecting monuments, competing with each other, and extracting enough food from the peasants to support all those activities… the Maya kings and nobles did not heed long-term problems” (Diamond 177). The lack of concern for bettering the society and facing problems proved to be detrimental to the civilization’s success. When combined together, these various factors are sure to cause the collapse of a