By 950 AD, the Mayan Civilization had already collapsed. Apparently, no one seems to know exactly what happened. Different scholars and archeologists have come up with varied theories that are aimed at explaining what could have led to the collapse of the Mayan Civilization. The most notable ones are starvation and climate change. Archeologists have come to learn that the Maya people were in more instances than one subjected to a series of droughts which normally occurred when there was not enough rainfall to sustain the vegetation. Since they did not have any technology for fetching underground water, the Maya people completely relied on rainfall for water supply. However, over time, the Maya people slowly started to learn how to effectively manage their water but these repeated droughts dried their reserves …show more content…
It is quite possible that the Maya people made use of the slash and burn method in farming thereby making worse the problem of drought. Deforestation served to increase the temperatures of the earth thereby making the droughts more severe and even long lasting. Even with their water management skills, cutting down plant cover or burning it could have resulted in water and food shortages. In any case, without water, they could not have been able to grow any food (Demarest,