“Geography in the News: Demise of the Maya.” National Geographic. “Changing Climate and the Maya.” National Geographic Society. “How Massive Drought Ended The Classic Mayan Civilization (And Why We Already Knew That).” Forbes. “The Fall of the Maya: ‘They Did It to Themselves’.” NASA. 20 trees had to be burned to heat enough limestone to make 1 square meter of lime plaster. The Maya cleared large areas of land for agriculture, as well as for making lime plaster for temples and monuments.The civilization continued to exist in the region until the Spanish Conquest around 1540 CE. New cities were also established in the highlands (present-day Guatemala). Although Maya society had collapsed in the southern lowlands by 900 CE, cities in the northern lowlands (present-day Yucatan Peninsula) rose to prominence.Deforestation may have contributed to the decrease in precipitation by 5% to 15%. This results in less water evaporating from the surface, reducing clouds and precipitation. Cleared land absorbs less solar radiation as opposed to forested land. Intense deforestation likely exacerbated the natural droughts.Droughts led to crop failure, which in turn may have led to increased tensions and warfare between city-states.Perhaps the most influential were a series of droughts, each lasting between 3 and 20 years and decreasing annual precipitation by a range of 41% to 54%.There are many possible causes of the collapse of the Maya Classic Period, including warfare, environmental degradation, drought and shifting trade routes.The wettest decades, which were between 440 and 660 CE, coincided with the establishment of large numbers of new cities. ![]()
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