Rise And Fall Of The Mayans

The Maya are an indigenous people of Mexico and Central America who have left their mark on history. The Mayans were known for their efforts in architecture, mathematics, and astronomy. They built amazing pyramids that stretch through the skies and mark their territory. There are various unique characteristic that reflect and define this empire. One can learn more about them by taking a look and analyzing the history of the cities that composed the empire. One particular city that had an interesting rise and fall was Mayapan, the last capital of a Mayan Kingdom in the Post-Classic Period. Mayapan is located in the northwest of the Yucatan peninsula and its ruins can still be visited to this day. As it was the capital of the Maya in Yucatan
Nonetheless, there is one common explanation for the rise of this capital city. A Maya prince named Hunak Ke’el, who was also a member of the family of Cocom, was captured at about 1194 in Chichen Itza and was going to be sacrificed to the gods. However, Hunak Ke’el managed to survive and consequently declared war on Chichen Itza and went on to destroying the city around 1224 (Schoen). This led to an end of the dominance of the Itza in northern Mexico. The dynasty of the Cocom began to dominate the northern Yucatan. In the wake of the war Mayapan was founded by Hunak Ke’el. This coincides with the bloom of the city and the construction of major
With the uprising in the years 1441-1461, almost all members of the House Cocom were killed and Mayapan was abandoned (Schoen). Legend reports that it was because of their greed that the Cocom were eventually overthrown. Another clue that points to warfare as a cause for the cities fall was the deliberate destruction and marks of fire that were visible in the excavation (Maestri). Mayapan was eventually abandoned and had become a ruin by the time of the European arrival. This is one theory surrounding the fall of Mayapan although there is also evidence that points to an unknown epidemic that likely contributed to the downfall of