The Mayan Civilization Research Paper

The ancient Maya civilization once occupied a vast geographic area in Central America. Their civilization extended to parts of what is now Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador, and most of Guatemala and Belize. There are many studies and predictions to the collapse of the Mayan civilization. The Maya were a highly developed civilization spanning from almost 2000 B.C.E to 1200 A.D. The decline of their civilization provides important insight into the importance of sustainable development. The importance of sustainable development is exemplified by the demise of the Mayan empire due to their agricultural techniques, constant warfare and rapid population growth. A large part of the Mayan economy was agriculture. The Mayans mainly grew maize (corn),
Relative to the geographical territory, the population was small. The city state system consisted of independent cities that were densely populated urban areas surrounded by sparsely populated rural areas. During the 10th century, it was estimated that there were 2000 people per square mile, and 500 people per square mile in rural areas. Archeologists don’t believe that an epidemic was a significant factor in the destruction of the Maya, however living in cramped conditions would have resulted in a number of health problems. If the water supply for the city had become contaminated, the population could have ingested deadly bacteria or toxins. Parasites while very common in tropical regions can cause irreparable damage to the body. Furthermore, mosquitoes thrive in tropical regions, which could have helped spread other diseases such as malaria and Dengue Fever. The dense population facilitated the spread of these diseases. When the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, although the Mayan Empire had already collapsed, some Mayans survived. The Spanish contaminated the remaining Maya with foreign diseases such as measles, smallpox, and syphilis. The diseases brought by the Spanish had detrimental effects on the population, and effectively destroyed the rest of it. This demonstrates the importance of sustainable development in relation to population growth and density. The survival of this culture was
Many of the factors that contributed to the downfall of the Maya are similar to aspects in our society today. Our agricultural techniques today are very controversial and high debated; particularly about pesticides and the impacts they have on the environmental. Our society is less focused around war, although we still spend valuable resources on war. Finally, the human population is growing very rapidly, and there are growing health concerns in countries with high population densities such as India, China, and