Considering that the documentary evidence left behind by the literate Mayans shows that they were bloodthirsty killers engaged in internecine wars, and like the Aztecs and at least one group in the Four Corners area practiced cannibalism, and that the tribal tales in North America that have preserved accounts of genocidal and near-genocidal wars, your post is mystifying.
Not really, and I apologize if I offended you-it was not my intention-I greatly enjoy the articles you send. I’m just making an observation based on what I’ve seen in my travels/heard/read over the last 30 years or so.
I didn’t say all of the cities were abandoned without warfare-most of the ones I’ve visited were sacked-at Casas Grandes-pretty close to Texas-there are scorch marks on the walls from a conflagration, and skeletons were found piled in a firepit, like a makeshift mass grave-and the place had been looted according to my cousin’s husband who was in charge of that dig. There are others, but that is the best preserved one I’ve been to.
But there are a few cities that were abandoned with no evidence of a battle-those are the ones that invite speculation-La Quemada is one like that-no evidence of battle, but plenty evidence of the nearby water source going dry in a prolonged drought.