How Did The Collapse Of The Mayan Civilization
The Mayan Civilization was essentially a Mesoamerican civilization that was developed by the then Maya people. The civilization was most outstandingly noted for the Mayan hieroglyphic script as well as its architecture, art and fully developed writing system of pre-Columbian Americas. It is also good to note that the Maya developed in a place that encompasses Belize, all of Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. Some western parts of Honduras and El Salvador were also part of the plan (Chase et al., 2000).
By 950 AD, the Mayan Civilization had already collapsed. Apparently, no one seems to know exactly what happened. Different scholars and archeologists have come up with varied theories that are aimed at explaining what could have led to the collapse of the Mayan Civilization. The most notable ones are starvation and climate change. Archeologists have come to learn that the Maya people were in more instances than one subjected to a series of droughts which normally occurred when there was not enough rainfall to sustain the vegetation. Since they did not have any technology for fetching underground water, the Maya people completely relied on rainfall for water supply. However, over time, the Maya people slowly started to learn how to effectively manage their water but these repeated droughts dried their reserves …show more content…
(Webster, 2002).
In another perspective, there are those researchers and archeologists who believe that the collapse of the Mayan Civilization might have been as a result of climate change.
It is quite possible that the Maya people made use of the slash and burn method in farming thereby making worse the problem of drought. Deforestation served to increase the temperatures of the earth thereby making the droughts more severe and even long lasting. Even with their water management skills, cutting down plant cover or burning it could have resulted in water and food shortages. In any case, without water, they could not have been able to grow any food (Demarest,
2004).
In the ultimate analysis, I would presume that the theory that best explains the collapse of the Mayan Civilization is that of climate change. The persistent use of the slash and burn techniques in their farming could have served to make the situation quite serious to handle. Lack of plant cover resulted in high temperatures, the depletion of water reservoirs and the subsequent lack of water. In any case, without water, plants cannot be grown and normal lives can get deterred or impaired. Moreover, the Maya people did not possess any technical know-how regarding how to manage their water and plant cover. This is in my opinion the theory that points directly to the collapse of the Mayan Civilization (Webster, 2002).
By 950 AD, the Mayan Civilization had already collapsed. Apparently, no one seems to know exactly what happened. Different scholars and archeologists have come up with varied theories that are aimed at explaining what could have led to the collapse of the Mayan Civilization. The most notable ones are starvation and climate change. Archeologists have come to learn that the Maya people were in more instances than one subjected to a series of droughts which normally occurred when there was not enough rainfall to sustain the vegetation. Since they did not have any technology for fetching underground water, the Maya people completely relied on rainfall for water supply. However, over time, the Maya people slowly started to learn how to effectively manage their water but these repeated droughts dried their reserves …show more content…
(Webster, 2002).
In another perspective, there are those researchers and archeologists who believe that the collapse of the Mayan Civilization might have been as a result of climate change.
It is quite possible that the Maya people made use of the slash and burn method in farming thereby making worse the problem of drought. Deforestation served to increase the temperatures of the earth thereby making the droughts more severe and even long lasting. Even with their water management skills, cutting down plant cover or burning it could have resulted in water and food shortages. In any case, without water, they could not have been able to grow any food (Demarest,
2004).
In the ultimate analysis, I would presume that the theory that best explains the collapse of the Mayan Civilization is that of climate change. The persistent use of the slash and burn techniques in their farming could have served to make the situation quite serious to handle. Lack of plant cover resulted in high temperatures, the depletion of water reservoirs and the subsequent lack of water. In any case, without water, plants cannot be grown and normal lives can get deterred or impaired. Moreover, the Maya people did not possess any technical know-how regarding how to manage their water and plant cover. This is in my opinion the theory that points directly to the collapse of the Mayan Civilization (Webster, 2002).