Climate And The Collapse Of Maya Civilization

American Scientist ^ | July - August | Larry C Peterson - Gerald H Haug

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[keithtoo]

They collapsed due to horrid poetry.

This lady came to town and the cities were abandoned in a panic.

[AndrewB]

Ah yes...the dreaded Mayan Anjelou.

[sawmill trash]

trl

[pfony1]

ping

[AndrewB]

Although actually I find her poetry to be quite def.

[keithtoo]

If, by 'def' you mean sophomoric and obtuse, then I agree.

[JohnCliftn]

I think Classical Maya would have been a horrible place to live. Scary, fearsome god-idols, tossing girls into the well depths (young girls, not ex-wives), huge pointless piles of stone, etc., do not look like a happy place to me.

[Matchett-PI]

This isn't a thread about physics and black holes.

[IronJack]

I know why the caged bird fled.

[AndrewB]

Indeed I do.

[cricket]

Climactic change happens. . .with or without us.

[Bigh4u2]

'Global warming' did them in.

No centralized heating system and too many open fires.

[wizr]

Almost made it through the first three pages, then ... um, water good.

Thanks

[bruinbirdman]

"Climactic change happens. . ."

Those guys were pretty good with "hewn stone". If they were so smart, why didn't they build a few dams?

We know why they left. Easier to cut and run. Why didn't they overcome their adversity?

yitbos

[American in Singapore]

During its Classic period (250–950 A.D.), Maya civilization reached a zenith. At its peak, around 750 A.D., the population may have topped 13 million.

Sounds more advanced than today's 21st century Islam.

Can we get a time machine and make a trade???

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam.

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[BenLurkin]

"Figure 1. As this 19th-century engraving depicts, Victorian-era explorations of the Yucatán revealed many ancient Maya ruins enveloped by jungle—an observation that might lead one to believe that the onset of steamy tropical conditions contributed to the collapse of Maya civilization. In fact, drought appears to have been the culprit. The authors describe how they were able to gauge the climate for Classic Maya times during the first millennium A.D. Their record shows a series of severe droughts that coincide remarkably well with the abandonment of Classic Maya sites." Engraving by Frederick Catherwood

[Covenantor]

Same here.

"Almost made it through the first three pages, then ... um, water good."

um, Beer better.