A large amount of drought may lead to the doomsday of the ancient Mayans
The 13-year drought may be more instrumental than the previously thought of the collapse of the ancient Mayan civilization.
As part of a new study published in the Journal Science Advancesa team of researchers analyzed oxygen isotopes in the Mexican cave Grutas tzabnah in Yucatán, collecting climate data from 871 to 1021.
Daniel H. James, a postdoctoral fellow at University College London, identified several drought periods, one lasted 13 years between 929 and 942, while others lasted for three years. Based on the analysis, they believed that long-term climate-related stress may have a much more impact than previously suspected.
“There is extensive archaeological evidence for the reservoir and management of the classic Mayans,” James told James. Art newspaper. “Population is prepared and adapted to deal with the purpose of drought, but these methods can only go too far. Social stresses (such as famine caused by drought) can lead to a deadly risk spiral, in which case cohesion and social order worsen after the failure of the mitigation method of trust. The failure is longer transactions, which may add more transactions.
Between 800 and 1000 AD, the reasons for the decline of Mayan civilization have long been debated among experts, with possible factors including changes in trade routes, wars, civil unrest, disease and severe droughts. During this period, archaeological evidence showed that the Mayans left established settlements to move northward, causing further stress and turmoil among the already struggling population.
In recent years, many new discoveries belonging to the ancient Mayans have been identified, including the discovery of a 3,000-year-old Mayan complex in Guatemala and the 1,600-year-old founding ruler of Caracol in Belize.
