5. What was the main factor in the Apocalypse of the Mayan World?
The main mystery that surrounds the Mayan world right up until this day is what happened to cause their demise. They had been a people who were extremely resourceful and advanced technologically. They had an in-depth understanding of areas such as math and astronomy, with amazing cities being built and their people having used what was believed to be the only form of the written word in all of Mesoamerica.
However, this civilisation seemed to suddenly collapse for no apparent reason. Of course, there has been a multitude of theories put forward over the years as to what happened, including the likes of civil war or invasion, but one of the explanations that people go back to again and again is that of extreme climate change. There has been evidence shown how there were two extreme droughts that the Mayan world that appeared to last over the course of decades. The first one of these occurred in the 9th century, with the other one taking place during the 11th century.
It is suggested by archaeologists that the drought which occurred first was the reason for the southern Mayan cities collapsed into ruin, with the next drought wiping out the cities that were in the northern part of the Mayan Empire. Therefore, the cities struggled to keep up with the demand for food as the crop was struggling due to lack of rainfall which possibly contributed towards a famine occurring.
It was through studies conducted at the Blue Hole in Belize that gives the most evidence to the drought theory. They estimated the occurrence of a long drought that took place roughly between 800 AD and 900 AD. There are also many instances of hieroglyphs that were discovered at many different Mayan sites which have been deciphered. This showcases that the Mayan Empire had been steadily growing for many years before collapsing silently following 904 AD.
Other theories abound include that of deforestation being the reason for their demise. There have been people in some circles who believe the combination of deforestation and excessive rainfall led to a cataclysmic combination. The Mayans went through timber at a fast rate due to the large number of structures they were creating which led to high levels of deforestation. As their cities expanded and the buildings became larger, this demand for wood expanded even further. It is believed that in order to carve out a single square metre of the city, there would be a need for approximately 20 pieces of wood to do so. They also had vast areas of crops in areas which had to be cleared of trees to have these sufficiently sized plots, especially as the populations of the cities increased, putting demands on the amount of food that was grown.