Religion of Mayan civilization

A dread of malevolent spirits haunting forsaken areas could, along with environmental catastrophes, help to explain why some areas in the ancient Mayan world proved less resilient than others when their civilization disintegrated, researchers suggest.

The ancient Maya once claimed an area about the size of Texas, with cities and fields that occupied what is now southern Mexico and northern Central America, including the countries of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. The height of the Mayan civilization, known as the Classic period, extended from approximately A.D. 250 to at least 900.

For unknown reasons, the Classic Mayan civilization then collapsed. The population declined catastrophically to a fraction of its former size, and many of their great cities were left mostly abandoned for the jungle to reclaim.

Scientists have long drawn connections between the decline of the ancient Maya and environmental catastrophes, especially drought. Deforestation linked with farming could also have triggered disaster — for instance, reduced tree cover of the ground would have led to loss of fertile topsoil by erosion, as well as greater evaporation of water by sunlight, exacerbating drought.

However, while some locales remain abandoned for long periods, others recovered more quickly. This patchwork pattern of recovery might argue against environmental catastrophes being the sole determining factor behind the collapse of the Classic Mayan civilization — if they were, one might expect such catastrophes to affect all areas equally.

Moreover, archaeologists have pointed out that ancient Mayan societies may have been vulnerable to collapse by their very nature. They apparently funneled wealth to a small ruling elite topped by hereditary divine kings, who had virtually unlimited power but whose subjects expected generosity — a string of military defeats or seasonal droughts could greatly damage their credibility. The stability of this system was further threatened by polygamy among rulers, spawning numerous lineages that warred against each other, overall generating conditions ripe for collapse.

To learn more about the reasons behind the patchy apocalypse and recovery, scientists focused on social declines seen in the terminal part of the Classic period in the Mayan lowlands, ranging from A.D. 750 to 950. They also looked at downturns from A.D. 100 to 250, the terminal part of the "Pre-Classic" period. [End of the World? Top Apocalypse Fears]

Available data suggested the elevated parts of the Mayan lowlands, which include much of today's Yucatan Peninsula, were significantly more vulnerable to collapse and less likely to recover than lower-lying areas. Sites within this elevated region lacked perennial water sources and were more dependent solely on what rainwater they could capture and store, leaving them vulnerable to shifts in climate. In contrast, neighboring lower-lying areas had access to springs, perennial streams and sinkholes known as cenotes that were often filled with water.

Reoccupying elevated interior areas with large numbers of people would require intense labor to re-establish water management systems, helping to explain why they were left abandoned, the researchers noted. In contrast, dwelling in the neighboring, low-lying areas was less challenging, and evidence suggests that sites there were typically occupied continuously even when the major political and economic networks they were linked with collapsed.

What does brown mean in a mood ring? What is diverticulosis? What does entourage mean? What does archive mean on instagram? What is a keloid? why do you thibk adam could not fibd a suitable helper Make of it what you will meaning? What does enriched mean? What does the confederation mean? What is the meaning of ida? What is deet? What does mottled skin look like? What gives meaning? How long does acrylic paint take to dry? How to take sns with tips off at home? How to bake? What is the meaning of sorcery? video download helper no longer gives popup box when downloading How to stop self harm? What does chiquita mean? How to record cash tips? When did they stop having actors spinning tricks in circus circus? What does who dey mean? How to measure foot size? what happened to hamburger helper meatloaf what is a normal helper/suppressor ration 5 tips how to lose weight in your hips and thighs? What states are on lockdown? What are discount points on a mortgage? I love those who love me meaning? Tips when applying for a marriage license? How to watch free guy? How to have an abortion naturally? Tricks on how to lossen body mounts? what is itunes helper and does it need to run How to solve sudoku puzzles tips? How to delete searches on google? What is better? What does chulo mean? What is the meaning of the root dict? How to be creative? What is the meaning of entrepreneur? How to identify duplicates in excel? What do soda tab necklace meaning? How to calibrate apple watch? What does fbsm mean? What does odst stand for? How to use laptop ddr3 ram in a ddr3 desktop linus tech tips? What does minting an nft mean? Shuan king's video where he shows journalist tricks? What does ncis stand for on tv? What does ping mean in gaming? How to get your taste and smell back after covid? What do gnomes mean? How to send investigation tips to channel 4? How to replace watch battery? What does amour mean? What does a high quality score indicate? How to make basil pesto? What does mcm mean? What does interquartile range mean? What is the meaning of a pinky ring? What does it mean to hook up? What are polyrhythms? What is meta? how to get a dog helper license What does low tire pressure mean? What is taurine? What is fascism mean? Tips on how to cousell? An idiom is a word or phrase whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of the words.? How do people have so much smoke when doing vape tricks? What does pulp fiction mean? How to do magic tricks money? How to cook brussel sprouts on stove? People who don't use q tips? Tips on how to lose weight faster? how to force ip helper How to survive storm warning edition tricks? What does it mean when transmission slips? Why are wing tip shoes called wing tips? How to make your number private? What does disconsolately mean? What is a normal a1c level for a woman? What is the first day of the week? What does uti stand for? What is marmalade? Cosplay tips how to hide the edge of foam? What is the meaning of if u seek amy? What does sled stand for? Tricks to know when mangos are ripe good? How to share apple music playlist? How much tips for pizza delivery drivers? What does the word niger mean? What is a lead? What does eom mean? What does scalping mean? What level does metang evolve? What time does the field of dreams game start? What does chupapi mean? What is the date today? How to solve a 5x5 rubik's cube?

• Movies on Mayan civilization
• Main Mayan cities
• Ancient Mayan Buildings
• Ancient Mayan Civilisation
• Name of Mayan religion