The Clear Message The Ancient Mayan Civilization Left Us

Once the mightiest civilization in the America's, the4. Deforestation
ancient Mayan Civilization declined and fell during aAlthough the Maya were master agriculturist, the
space of a few hundred years. Leaving behindforest around the great cities had to be used as
mysterious temples, a calendar that foretold thebuilding materials to create the cities we see
26.000 year cosmic alignment in 2012, and atoday. Deforestation depletes the land, eventually
legacy of its surviving descendants beingturning it into desert, as each harvest effectively
victimized since the civilization collapsed. What isworsens with lower water levels. Cities in the later
the message this ancient civilization has left us?stages of the collapse may have been
All civilizations end, the ancient Mayanabandoned- as food became scarcer, and water
astronomers knew this, and throughout historynone existent.
empires have come and gone. Some short-lived,5. Tribal Rivalries
others simply declined and fell like the RomanSuccess breeds jealousy and want. More warlike
Empire did- through a much longer period ofcivilizations like the Aztecs, could of created tribal
natural decline.divisions within the empire as things started to go
We still do not really know that much about thewrong. Rivalries within' the civilization, may of
Maya, as much of its remaining culture was eithercreated more warrior type leaders- who fought
destroyed or stolen by Spanish invaders, afterfor the resources the civilization needed to
Columbus rediscovered the Americas. But expertssurvive.
are beginning to agree that there were several6. Religious Decline
root causes to the eventual collapse of thisThe Roman Empire compounded its decline when
empire.it converted to Christianity, the Maya Civilization
What were the causes of the collapse of themay of declined because as natural disasters like
Mayan Civilization after the 9th Century?the great droughts, as people stopped believing in
1. Overextensiontheir religious leaders. Even blaming them for the
The Maya Civilization simply overextended itself,terrible events of possible mass-starvations,
as its success attracted other tribes and theinvasions, and prolonged drought- once this belief
empire grew. This created a need to supply food,was questioned, they may of lost faith in their
shelter and the same level of wealth for all theown societies.
empires citizens-overextending the empires food7. Mass Migration
supply, and depleting other key resources.From a civilization of Nine Million people, the Maya
2. Decentralizationempire had declined to an estimated Two million,
The Maya civilization was a decentralized empire,by the 9th Century. Many experts ask the
with differing feudal states being part of thequestion, What happened to these people?. No
empire, rather like the United States today. Theone really knows, but in theory they either died
decentralized state worked until certain events likefrom famine and wars or simply migrated- Still
prolonged drought, and possibly city feuds turnedthis is one of the great mysteries of the Maya
the states of the empire against each other.Civilization.
3. Natural and Man-Made DisastersThis cultural collapse of ancient astronomers,
Although the Maya were advanced agriculturists,gifted agriculturalists, architects, artists, engineers
land was still limited. Maya Cities had runningand mathematicians remains a mystery today.
water, and had an advanced irrigated agriculturalBut the message it has left us is clear; look after
system. Something happened between the 7ththe environment around us, cooperate instead of
and 9th Centuries that created water shortagesfight, and recognize even the greatest empires or
and prolonged drought. Many City states must ofcivilizations do naturally end- one way or another.
starved as drought created food shortages.