Question

No one can say for certain what happened to the great urban Mayan civilization, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the relatively abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. Clearly state the “mystery” and provide a brief summary of at least two (2) reasonable and scholarly theories which could explain the mystery. Because some theories may sound far-fetched, include the source or promoter of each theory – such as a scientist, a historian, a theologian, etc. After summarizing at least two (2) scholarly theories, identify one (1) of the theories as the most plausible and provide at least two (2) convincing reasons why the theory you have chosen is the best one to explain the mystery. This will involve some critical reasoning skills on your part. Use at least two (2) sources plus the class textbook. (Three [3] sources total as the minimum) Note: Wikipedia and other similar Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Answer 1

Mayan Civilization:

Mystery Of their Disappearance:

The Mayan empire disappeared overnight without any trace or any proof of their existence. They were a very progressive and modern empire with a deep understanding of astronomy, religion, architecture, trade etc. They were the first known civilization who has their own writing scriptures. They consisted of cities, which spread from southern Mexico to northern Honduras. They were ruled by elites and had a powerful army and claimed to have descended directly from the stars and planets.

Summary of Find out what happened to the ancient Maya empire:

The author Christopher Minster discusses in details of the Maya Empire which existed in 800 AD. The empire was spread from southern Mexico to northern Honduras. The empire is known to be very progressive with a good knowledge of architecture and had built huge cities with limestone. Further, they had made temples which are live evidence of their architectural expertise. He further discusses their sudden disappearance and mighty cities like Tikal were abandoned and the civilization which was flourishing till 904 AD, suddenly went quiet and the reasons for their disappearance as follows:

• The disaster theory: A volcano, an earthquake or a sudden epidemic could be the reason for their sudden disappearance. This theory is contradictory as many cities thrived over 200 years and slowly disappeared. A calamity would have destroyed all in one go.
• The warfare theory: The Mayans were known to be peace-loving but that theory also suffered a beating as a lot of evidence of continued warfare amongst the cities were found. This could have caused the destruction of the Mayan civilization.
• The famine theory: The continuous deforestation and soil erosion led to drought and shortage of food. This could have caused an eventual destruction of the Mayan’s.
• The civil strife theory: There might have been pressure on the working class to build the city, cultivate the land and might have caused civil strife where working-class clashed with the Elite leading to their extinction.
• The environmental change theory: The excessive deforestation and cultivation of land could have reduced the land area and inland waters would have flooded their cities and reduced supply of food. The lack of food led to their extinction.

There is no clear-cut evidence behind the reason for their sudden mysterious disappearance but it could be a mix of civil strife, epidemics, calamities etc. The archaeologists are still collecting evidence and trying to arrive at conclusive facts to support the above assumptions.

Summary of the Mysterious downfall of the great Mayan Civilization is revealed:

The author Retno Wulandari discusses the Spanish explorers visit Central America to vanquish the Mayans but were taken by surprise as the vast civilization had disappeared.

They were skilled artisans and intellectuals. They had researched the art of building cities with limestone and have created great architecture. They had built canals, pyramids, and temples. They had developed a modern method of agriculture and developed good trade relations amongst the cities which spread from Southern Mexico, Belize to Guatemala. The author also suggests that the decline took place over a period of 200 years as indicated by changes in architecture and decay of cities. Further, the south may seem to have disappeared before the north Mayans. The various reasons he discusses are drought caused due to environmental changes. There could have been civil war for food or economic differences had arisen and caused strife. A further indication is of natural calamities and eventual destruction of the civilization.

My Opinion:

According to me, the reason for extinction was a combination of many factors as follows:

• Climatic changes and environmental issues reduced the land areas and impacted agriculture and the sources of livelihood
• The reduction in food and agriculture created poverty and food wars between the producers and the elite consumers
• The hostility amongst the poor and rich and intracity strife for food would have led to constant wars and eventual downfall of the Mayans.
• The basic reason was drought, lack of food production and many natural calamities.

Reference:

• Find out what happened to the ancient Maya empire.
• Why did the Mayan Civilization Collapse? A new study points to deforestation and climate change.
• The mysterious downfall of the great Mayan Civilization is revealed.