2/9: Disappearance of the Maya

What Happened to the Maya?

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The collapse of the Classic Mayan Civilization is one of the great mysteries of Mesoamerican history.

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Many theories have been proposed by archaeologists and historians to explain what happened.

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You will learn about possible causes of their decline in the following slides, and decide which one you think is the main cause.

Theory 1

Over-Farming: 

Some scholars have argued that Mayan society grew too rapidly for its own good. As the population increased, it put farmers under more and more pressure to grow food, and gradually they ran out of fresh forest land to clear. That would have forced them to plant crops in their fields without an adequate fallow cycle (the time that it takes soil to rebuild its nutrient supply).

Open Ended

In your own words and 2-3 sentences, explain why over-farming could lead to a population decline.

Theory 2

Warfare:

The Mayan rulers, who convinced their population that they were powerful enough to control the weather, may have started to believe their own hype. Their efforts to conquer neighboring peoples may have backfired, as long periods of war sapped Mayan resources and led to retaliation. There's evidence that a number of Mayan cities eventually were besieged and fell to invaders.

Open Ended

How could warfare cause the Mayan civilization to collapse? List two reasons from the text:

Theory 3

Drought:

By 900 C.E., the Maya civilization had grown quite large. They developed the slash-and-burn method to clear jungle to plant crops. In doing so, they unintentionally made the soil less productive. They had cut down so much forest and jungle, that the area became hotter and drier. A long period of no rain would have been devastating.

Multiple Select

Cause: Mayans used the slash-and-burn method of farming. What were the negative affects mentioned?

• made the soil less productive

• burned down villages by accident

• the area became hotter and drier

What really happened??

Watch the following video. Afterwards, you will explain what you think happened based on what you've learned.

Multiple Choice

Video: Why did the Maya people believe the priests lost favor with the gods?

• drought

• foreign invaders

• disease

• earthquakes

Multiple Choice

In the video, what was NOT a possible reason for the Maya city-state decline?

• The people's rebellion against the kings.

• The best land for farming was used for other purposes.

• Farmers didn't allow the land to lie fallow (rest) to gather more nutrients.

Open Ended

The slides and video gave several theories as to why the great Mayan cities in the Yucatan Peninsula were abandoned (warfare, drought, over farming). What do you think happened? Was it one reason, or a combination?

Use what you've learned to explain in your own words what you think happened. Restate the question and support your answer: