The Mayan Civilization Research Paper

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The Collapse of the Maya Civilization The Maya Civilization was a Mesoamerican complex society. This ancient civilization is known for its fully developed writing system of hieroglyphics, the creation of the Mayan calendar and ball game, as well as its architecture, mathematical and astronomical system. It began in 7000 BCE, and until 2000 BCE; this period was known as the Archaic Period. Then from 1500 BCE to 950 CE, the empire thrived. However, from 950 CE- 1524 CE, recognized as the Post-Classic Period, the Maya Civilization commenced its declined and mysterious disappearance. This decline was the result of several environmental factors. Because of deforestation, ‘slash and burn’ agriculture, drought, and unexpected natural disasters, …show more content…

In slash and burn agriculture, regions of a forest are burned, and then that area is cleared for cultivation of crops. Due to this practice, the soil becomes fertile for several years. However, after those years, the farming land becomes unusable and a new plot of land must be cleared to support the growing Mayan population, while the former land rejuvenates itself, something that can take decades or longer. Due to this, areas where crops can be grown become sparse. Slash and burn agriculture results in deforestation, which is “the clearing or thinning of forests”. As a result, thinning of forests, the Mayan farmers lost the land where they would harvest crops. Therefore, there was a lack of food for the Mayans, as according to David Drew, an archaeologist, “the picture that emerges is one of the environment progressively degraded, of Maya agriculture reaching the very limits of its capacity and being unable to feed populations adequately.” Slash and burn agriculture, along with deforestation, destroyed the Mayan environment. These practices made it so farmers were ultimately unable to have enough cultivated land to provide for the population. Therefore, this led to more environmental issues, such as drought. Deforestation and slash and burn agriculture are two causes for the collapse of the Mayan …show more content…

The climate change caused by deforestation created less rainfall consequently, and the rainfall was very unstable. The amount of rain would vary greatly from year to year. This instability of rain made it difficult to have enough water for drinking and farming purposes. Repercussions of this instability included a smaller harvest. If all farmers had a small harvest, the small amount of crops would be insufficient for the Mayan people to live off of. BBC has stated that, “Climate records show that rainfall diminished dramatically for the best part of a century, between around AD 1020 and 1100.” The continuous lack of water led to more failed crops, which in turn led to less food for the ever growing population. Thus the people had begun to run out of food and water, two necessities for life. This would cause increased tensions among the people as well. Drought is a reason why the Mayan civilization broke down, as it resulted in less water and food for the

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