Mayan Civilization Collapse

Mayan Civilization Collapse

Subject – History

Context – The mystery behind Maya civilisation’s sudden fall from glory still eludes us. Scientists have long suspected that drought pushed its people towards starvation.

Concept –

• The Maya civilisation originated in the Yucatan Peninsula. Known for its monumental architecture and an advanced understanding of mathematics and astronomy, it flourished between 600 and 800 AD.
• But then, suddenly, between 800 and 950 AD, many of the southern cities were abandoned. This period is called the collapse of the Classic Maya civilisations, puzzling modern-day scientists.
• Scientists think that this period saw significant droughts. This seeded a theory: The Maya people faced starvation because of their dependence on drought-sensitive crops such as corn, beans and squash.

Role of Climate change

• The lead authors of the new study were not convinced. So, they dug deeper to understand if the droughts were severe enough to hamper food production at the time.
• The study draws attention to exploiting various plants to survive drought and climate change.
  • Climate change is already hampering food security.
• The central Yucatan lowland, site of most major Mayan cities, was abandoned due to the stresses of deforestation and drought.