Disappearance of the Mayans
The Disappearance of the Mayans
Kendra Nunnally
Mario Del Carril
Humanities 111
April 29, 2012
What happened to the Mayan people? This question has baffled many scientist, researcher and historian since the disappearance of the Mayans. NASA-funded researchers believe the Mayans; themselves are responsible for their own extinction. The Mayans were a culture that resided in subtropical Mesoamerica, which is where Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala are located. The Mayans resided in Mesoamerica from around 2500 B.C until around 250 A.D.( Gill, N.S. 1996). The Mayan people were known for creating pyramids Usually cultures will slowly become extinct, as a result of numerous battles and many times from famine. However the Mayans simply disappeared as a culture. Researchers believe that Mayans were in harmony with their environment, but a common mistake was made and deforesting of the land and vegetation caused suffering for the Mayan people in that they could not find food and nourishment once the land had been destroyed. Most of the history of the Mayan speaks to how it took approximately 20 trees to melt one square meter of lime plaster in order to construct their extravagant temples, reservoirs, and monuments (2009). The loss of trees caused a 3-5 degree rise in temperature while dropping the climate’s rainfall amount by 20-30%. The Mayans stripped their land of trees at such a fast rate the land could not replenish the trees and other vegetation quick enough to preserve the land in which the Mayans needed to survive. The drought from the lack of rainfall made it difficult for the Mayans to reserve water during the dryer seasons and with the lack of water, there was little chance of being able to grow food on the desecrated land. While there is no soul reason for the sudden disappearance of the Mayan people, NASA funded researcher believe the greatest contributor in the extinction of the Mayan was because they stripped their natural habitat and
Kendra Nunnally
Mario Del Carril
Humanities 111
April 29, 2012
What happened to the Mayan people? This question has baffled many scientist, researcher and historian since the disappearance of the Mayans. NASA-funded researchers believe the Mayans; themselves are responsible for their own extinction. The Mayans were a culture that resided in subtropical Mesoamerica, which is where Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala are located. The Mayans resided in Mesoamerica from around 2500 B.C until around 250 A.D.( Gill, N.S. 1996). The Mayan people were known for creating pyramids Usually cultures will slowly become extinct, as a result of numerous battles and many times from famine. However the Mayans simply disappeared as a culture. Researchers believe that Mayans were in harmony with their environment, but a common mistake was made and deforesting of the land and vegetation caused suffering for the Mayan people in that they could not find food and nourishment once the land had been destroyed. Most of the history of the Mayan speaks to how it took approximately 20 trees to melt one square meter of lime plaster in order to construct their extravagant temples, reservoirs, and monuments (2009). The loss of trees caused a 3-5 degree rise in temperature while dropping the climate’s rainfall amount by 20-30%. The Mayans stripped their land of trees at such a fast rate the land could not replenish the trees and other vegetation quick enough to preserve the land in which the Mayans needed to survive. The drought from the lack of rainfall made it difficult for the Mayans to reserve water during the dryer seasons and with the lack of water, there was little chance of being able to grow food on the desecrated land. While there is no soul reason for the sudden disappearance of the Mayan people, NASA funded researcher believe the greatest contributor in the extinction of the Mayan was because they stripped their natural habitat and
References: Gill, N.S. (2012). The Ancient Maya. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/mesoamerica/p/010909maya.htm The Fall of the Maya: They Did it to Themselves. (2009, October). PHYS Org, (), . Retrieved from http://phys.org/news174152911.html