How Did The Mayans Contribute To The Decline Of Mayan Society
There is much speculation regarding the collapse of Mayan society. Many reasons seem to contribute to this and many fall into the category of agriculturally unsustainable geography and climate. The Mayans were able to adapt to their land for many centuries but were unable to continue this path forever. It proved difficult for them to carry out their slash and burn process.
The droughts were also another setback for Mayan agricultural growth. The need to modify the land in order to provide basic things caused a lack of leisure time which is necessary to the advancement of a society to a great civilization. Ultimately, the depletion of natural resources in …show more content…
the Mayan homeland led to the Mayans inevitable self destruction. Mayan terrain started out varying greatly throughout the region occupied by the Mayans but the slash and burn process came with long term consequences that would prove to be drastically harmful to Mayan life.
The slash and burn process is a farming technique in which vegetation is cut away and burned in order to clear land for new crops. Because the terrain of Mexico at this time was so inconvenient, the process was not ideal for long term use. The first negative aspect of this process was deforestation. Deforestation is when fields are not given sufficient time for vegetation to grow back, there is a temporary or permanent loss of forest cover.1 Some other key reasons were erosion, nutrient loss, and biodiversity loss. The negative aspects above are all connected in one way or another, and when one happens, another often follows behind it.
There is also sufficient evidence of drought being the cause of the Mayan collapse. There have been many studies conducted to measure the amount of drought that took place in what is
1
http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/slashburn.htm
Slash and Burn Agriculture
now Guatemala. For example, a scientist at Rice University, André Droxler looked at mineral deposits in the Great Blue Hole. This is a 1,000foot crater about 40 miles off the coast of Belize.
During this experiment, Droxler found that titanium, an alloy found more when it has recently rained, was less ubiquitous during the time of the Mayan downfall.2 This suggests that droughts took place around the time of the demise of the Maya. Droughts and infertile land have also led to the extinction of many other societies throughout history.
Mayan culture is still prevalent in some Mexico today. Many traditions were kept such as the hetzmek baptism ceremony, the Mu’ujul en Bacabchén being offered to the father of the bride at wedding, thatched roof huts, and weaving and textiles. Despite this many aspects of this society has been out grown because of it’s inconvenience. Things like some of the agricultural processes that prove to negatively impact their well being. The Mayan society lived as an advanced one in many ways, for example, their calendar and numerical system. TheirThere downfall led to an unexpected and disappointing failure but some of their achievements are still recognized greatly.
All in all, there are many factors that may have led to the downfall in the Mayans but there is a large amount of evidence that suggest unstable terrain and climate was drastically harmful to the Mayan civilization. Starting out with these inadequate conditions made it very difficult for them to work on developing infrastructure and other things that could have
2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morningmix/wp/2014/12/30/moreevidencemayanciv
ilizationcollapsedbecauseofdrought/
More evidence Mayan civilization collapsed because of drought
Washington Post
prevented their downfall due the the amount of work that had to go into adjusting the terrain. For obvious reasons, these areas were abandoned but the people that survived the Mayan collapse carried with them some of the more sacred traditions and food. The evolution and relocation of the Mayans have allowed this society to live in modern way today and, in the end, positive aspects of Mayan culture were kept throughout the years while other outdated traditions were lost with the collapse of the Maya.
The droughts were also another setback for Mayan agricultural growth. The need to modify the land in order to provide basic things caused a lack of leisure time which is necessary to the advancement of a society to a great civilization. Ultimately, the depletion of natural resources in …show more content…
the Mayan homeland led to the Mayans inevitable self destruction. Mayan terrain started out varying greatly throughout the region occupied by the Mayans but the slash and burn process came with long term consequences that would prove to be drastically harmful to Mayan life.
The slash and burn process is a farming technique in which vegetation is cut away and burned in order to clear land for new crops. Because the terrain of Mexico at this time was so inconvenient, the process was not ideal for long term use. The first negative aspect of this process was deforestation. Deforestation is when fields are not given sufficient time for vegetation to grow back, there is a temporary or permanent loss of forest cover.1 Some other key reasons were erosion, nutrient loss, and biodiversity loss. The negative aspects above are all connected in one way or another, and when one happens, another often follows behind it.
There is also sufficient evidence of drought being the cause of the Mayan collapse. There have been many studies conducted to measure the amount of drought that took place in what is
1
http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/slashburn.htm
Slash and Burn Agriculture
now Guatemala. For example, a scientist at Rice University, André Droxler looked at mineral deposits in the Great Blue Hole. This is a 1,000foot crater about 40 miles off the coast of Belize.
During this experiment, Droxler found that titanium, an alloy found more when it has recently rained, was less ubiquitous during the time of the Mayan downfall.2 This suggests that droughts took place around the time of the demise of the Maya. Droughts and infertile land have also led to the extinction of many other societies throughout history.
Mayan culture is still prevalent in some Mexico today. Many traditions were kept such as the hetzmek baptism ceremony, the Mu’ujul en Bacabchén being offered to the father of the bride at wedding, thatched roof huts, and weaving and textiles. Despite this many aspects of this society has been out grown because of it’s inconvenience. Things like some of the agricultural processes that prove to negatively impact their well being. The Mayan society lived as an advanced one in many ways, for example, their calendar and numerical system. TheirThere downfall led to an unexpected and disappointing failure but some of their achievements are still recognized greatly.
All in all, there are many factors that may have led to the downfall in the Mayans but there is a large amount of evidence that suggest unstable terrain and climate was drastically harmful to the Mayan civilization. Starting out with these inadequate conditions made it very difficult for them to work on developing infrastructure and other things that could have
2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morningmix/wp/2014/12/30/moreevidencemayanciv
ilizationcollapsedbecauseofdrought/
More evidence Mayan civilization collapsed because of drought
Washington Post
prevented their downfall due the the amount of work that had to go into adjusting the terrain. For obvious reasons, these areas were abandoned but the people that survived the Mayan collapse carried with them some of the more sacred traditions and food. The evolution and relocation of the Mayans have allowed this society to live in modern way today and, in the end, positive aspects of Mayan culture were kept throughout the years while other outdated traditions were lost with the collapse of the Maya.