![]() They would be ritualistically killed as a way to appease the Mayan gods. A certain amount of these captives would be brought back as human sacrifices for Mayan religious ceremonies. Most of these enslaved people would be brought back to complete backbreaking manual labor on farms and other agricultural projects. Chacmool statue in Chichén Itzá, the place where human sacrifices were made. These wars would have usually been fought over land and resources however, the Maya were infamous for conducting slave raids against the largely defenseless tribal people who lived near them. The Mayans would often wage war against the various city-states that lived outside the empire's borders. Even though the Mayans were outstanding city planners and artists, they were not shy about bloodshed. Sociopolitical FactorsĪnother leading theory about what could have led to the Mayan downfall is increased armed conflict with its many neighbors. Perhaps some starving inhabitants wandered into the countryside desperately trying to find food. This would also explain why large cities were abandoned. A lack of rainfall would have only made any kind of man-made disaster worse. There is also strong evidence from climate scientists suggesting a large drought around the same time as the Mayan collapse. While this might have had great success in earlier centuries, as the same land was used repeatedly to grow food, the soil fertility started to worsen and could have led to major shortages. The Mayans were expert farmers, but huge swathes of rainforest needed to be cut down and removed to make space for large farms. The first environmental issue that the Mayans might have encountered was a combination of deforestation and soil degradation. One of the leading theories that explains the downfall of the Maya is a series of compounding environmental disasters. Today, nature has reclaimed what was once lost due to the development of Mayan cities and farmlands by deforestation. Environmental Factors Ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul surrounded by the jungle. Who Came Before The Mayans? Most experts agree that the Olmecs could very well be the 'mother culture" of all the other empires and kingdoms that preceded them in Central America. No one is sure what caused this great calamity, but there are several leading theories as to what might have happened. One by one, each of the great cities that had been built throughout Central America was slowly abandoned and fell into disrepair. In total, more than 40 cities were under the control of the Maya during their height of power between 250 AD and 900 AD.īy the beginning of the 9th century, the Mayan civilization began to mysteriously collapse. These large urban settlements would host somewhere between 5,000 - 50,000 people, depending on their size. Large towns and cities started to form around these plazas. ![]() These early Maya would have been tribal people who settled in small farming and fishing villages along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The early Maya would have lived alongside the first great Mesoamerican civilization, the Olmecs, and likely inherited large aspects of their culture and identity from these people over the centuries by coming into regular contact with them through trade.īy 200 AD, the Maya began to build their famous stone plazas and pyramid complexes. Historians think that the Mayans could trace their history in Mesoamerica as far back as 1500 BC. The Mayan people are significantly older than their empire. The Rise And Fall Of The Maya Map showing the area occupied by the Maya civilization. Much of the great cities that the Maya had built were entirely abandoned, and their legacy and story would be gradually lost to time until they were rediscovered nearly 1000 years later in the early 19th century. ![]() Excelling in pottery, mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture at its height in the middle of the 6th century AD, the Mayan Empire was peerless in the Americas. However, despite their unquestioned power over the region, the Mayan Empire would come to a seemingly sudden and unexpected end by 900 AD. Perhaps the greatest of the Mesoamerican civilizations, for centuries, the Mayans dominated much of Central America. What Really Caused The Mayan Civilization To Collapse?
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