Mayan doomsday
Mayan civilization collapse and climate change
Mayan civilization collapse and climate change
***
Comalcalco was a major Mayan port city that was believed to have
flourished between A.D 700 to A.D 900. Though others place it much
older, and even perhaps older still, since the finds at Nakbe in the
Petén, it may go back to 1000 BCE, and beyond. Since there was no rock
quarry or stone to use in the area, they built the buildings out of
bricks made of baked mud. The Maya raised HUGE structures made out
of these bricks. That in itself makes this place unique to all the
other Mayan locations. But, you see, the bricks have inscriptions on
them.The map of the Mayan Zone |
Mayan ruins in Guatemala |
This
vibrant "Classic Period" of Mayan civilization thrived for
six centuries. Then, for some reason, it collapsed.
The fall of the Maya has long been one of the great mysteries of
the ancient world.
The Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire:
From pollen trapped in ancient layers of lake sediment, scientists
have learned that around 1,200 years ago, just before the civilization's
collapse, tree pollen disappeared almost completely and was replaced
by the pollen of weeds. In other words, the region became almost completely
deforested.
Without
trees, erosion would have worsened, carrying away fertile topsoil.
The changing groundcover would have boosted the temperature of the
region by as much as 6 degrees, according to computer simulations
by NASA climate scientist Bob Oglesby, a colleague of Sever at the
MSFC. Those warmer temperatures would have dried out the land, making
it even less suitable for raising crops.
Figure of a Maya priest. |
Rising temperatures would have also disrupted rainfall patterns,
says Oglesby. During the dry season in the Petén, water is
scarce, and the groundwater is too deep (500+ feet) to tap with wells.
Dying of thirst is a real threat. The Maya must have relied on rainwater
saved in reservoirs to survive, so a disruption in rainfall could
have had terrible consequences.
(Changes in cloud formation and rainfall are occurring over deforested
parts of Central America today, studies show. Is history repeating
itself?)
Using classic archeology techniques, researchers find that human
bones from the last decades before the civilization's collapse show
signs of severe malnutrition.
"Archeologists
used to argue about whether the downfall of the Maya was due to drought
or warfare or disease, or a number of other possibilities such as
political instability," Sever says. "Now we think that all
these things played a role, but that they were only symptoms. The
root cause was a chronic food and water shortage, due to some combination
of natural drought and deforestation by humans." Throne 1 of Piedras Negras |
Using oxygen isotope dating on stalagmites taken from caves near
various Mayan sites, scientists were able to determine precipitation
levels in the area, and correlate these with known political records
taken from Mayan stele and hieroglyphics.
They found, quoting materials supplied by UC Davis:
Periods of high and increasing rainfall coincided with a rise in population and political centers between A.D. 300 and 660. A climate reversal and drying trend between A.D. 660 and 1000 triggered political competition, increased warfare, overall sociopolitical instability, and finally, political collapse. This was followed by an extended drought between A.D. 1020 and 1100 that likely corresponded with crop failures, death, famine, migration and, ultimately, the collapse of the Maya population.
Temple of the Cross at Palenque; there is an intricate roof comb and corbeled arch |
Commenting on the finds from Central America, Bruce Winterhalder, from UC Davis' Native American Studies, bridges the centuries: "It's a cautionary tale about how fragile our political structure might be. Are we in danger in the same way the Classic Maya were in danger? I don't know. But I suspect that just before their rapid descent and disappearance, Maya political elites were quite confident about their achievements."
*Note: all pictures thankfully shared from various sources..
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