The Ancient Maya were an advanced civilization
that prospered in the southern lowlands from 2000 BC to 1000 AD. The end of this reign is very commonly referred to as the collapse of the Maya. Archaeological research has shown that during this time in the history of the Maya their society degraded, their cities were slowly abandoned, and their trade networks fell apart. Many people have wondered what exactly caused the collapse of these cities, and have provided many logical arguments. However, most of these arguments are based on there being a singular cause, such as a change in climate. We argue that there were multiple causes for this Ancient Maya "collapse", focusing on the agricultural practices, Climatic conditions, degradation of trade routes, and water management practices.
Why not Monocausal?
Due to an increase in the interest of ancient societal collapses, there have been many influential writings that have begun to revisit the causes of collapse. One of the most popular collapses is that of the ancient Maya. While many monocausal theories have been proposed, none of them can sufficiently explain the collapse. These monocausal arguments do not recognize the idea that there are many aspects to a successful civilization, and do not allow for the adaptability and resilience of people. In an attempt to eliminate this conundrum, we present the four aforementioned causes to provide insight towards what could have caused the Maya collapse.
Images Sourced: Keller, A. H. (2012, April). The Ancient Maya (2000 B. C. - A. D. 1500). Principles of Archaeology. Lecture conducted from the University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX.