The empire took thousands of years to build and just 100 years to collapse
During their 3,000-year dominance over Mesoamerica, the Mayans
built elaborate architectural structures and developed a sophisticated,
technologically progressive society. But immediately after reaching the
peak of its powers over the entire Yucatan Peninsula, the Mayan Empire
collapsed, falling apart in just 150 years. The reasons for its sudden
demise remain a mystery, but in a 2018 Science study, scientists found clues buried deep in the mud of Lake Chichancanab.
Deforestation, overpopulation, and extreme drought have all been
proposed as the reason for the empire’s collapse. The most probable of
those,
is drought. The evidence in the muddy sediments
underlying Lake Chichancanab, which was once a part of the empire,
underscore the devastating power of a drought on a population.
The sediment cores that the scientists dug up from the depths of
the lake are like a time machine, giving a glimpse of what past
environments look like. In the study, the team specifically looked at
precipitated gypsum, a soft mineral that incorporates oxygen and
hydrogen isotopes of water molecules into its crystalline structure.
Looking at it was like peering into fossil water, and in this case, it
showed that the area surrounding the lake had gone through extremely
arid periods. During periods of drought, larger amounts of water
evaporate, and so a higher proportion of lighter isotopes in gypsum
indicates a period of drought.
The team determined that between the years 800 and 1,000, annual
rainfall in the Maya lowlands decreased by nearly 50 percent on average
and up to 70 percent during peak drought conditions. This means the
rainfall in this region essentially stopped about the same time that the
empire’s city-states were abandoned.
Those that do not learn form the past risk repeating it.
