How Did The Rise And Fall Of The Anasazi Civilization

The Anasazi civilization fell because of a variety of geographical reasons. The most prominent are drought, famine, and climate change. During periods of time where it would fluctuate between normal rainfall and drought, the Anasazi farmers would move up into the mountains where the soil had retained more water. However, during their decline, the earth was cooling slightly, so the mountains were too cold to farm. Thus, famine occurred. “Anasazi farmers were kept from moving to higher, moister grounds by a worldwide cooling trend called the Little Ice Age.” says George Johnson. It supports me as it backs up my claim of cooling temperatures and, weakly, of the drought. Another source states, “Without rain, it was impossible to grow enough food
to support the population.” (“Collapse: Chaco Canyon”) This quote supports the drought theory more solidly because of the “without rain” part. To have a drought, you need little to no water over a period of time. And, with the lack of rain, that can be achieved (even though you don't want it to). It also helps with the famine bit of my reason, as a famine is the extreme scarcity of food. Many of the Anasazi people were affected by the drought and climate change.
Farmers were probably among those who were most affected. Obviously, one needs water to farm, and “drought led to reduced harvests.” (“The History of The Anasazi”) As the article acutely points out, the farmers were affected by the lessened return of their crops. The drought made it so that the farmers could barely even farm. The shortage of crops then creates an effect on much of the village, like the women and children. You see, “women spent hours each day grinding corn into flour.” (“Who Were the Anasazi?”) They spent an enormous portion of their day doing something that was supplied by something that was greatly reduced. Sure, they also weaved baskets or sandals and made clay pottery, but if there's no rain to make mud and grow fibrous grasses and reeds, women couldn't have done that either. As an effect of the drought and climate change, “widespread famine occurred.” (“Collapse: Chaco Canyon”) A few sites discussed about this area of the fall rather briefly, letting me draw a few conclusions. The Anasazi suffered from years of starvation, and most, if not all, of them probably had malnutrition. The adults grew thinner and weaker, making it harder to hunt wild animals or gather edible plants that managed to grow. The children grew up shorter and skinnier. Everyone was more susceptible to disease, and people likely died from them. The hunger itself would've been bad enough, but any lost family members or friends worsened the
blow. There are few other solutions to what the Anasazi faced. They could have fished in the lakes or rivers in the surrounding area, or rely more heavily on hunting and gathering. Maybe they could have traded what precious little they had to get more food. It reminded me of the drought in California. The Central Valley is where we grow much of our produce, yet the water rights are so old and out-dated that newer farmers could barely do their living! We at least didn't die off slowly and spread to other countries to survive like the Anasazi. We could learn from them the outcomes of a long drought and how it could make a nation shrivel up like a great prune. After all, those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it.