Maya Collapse
I. Introduction.
History of human is a long and mysterious journey to contemporary people to understand fully about it. However, it can be described briefly that “historical mankind has been mesmerized by the narrative of progress and civilization as codified by the first great agrarian kingdoms” (Scott 2011, p.2). By replacing hunters-gatherers and nomadic lifestyles with society of agriculture, people witnessed the flourish of many early civilizations in Europe, Asia such as Mesopotamian civilization, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, China dynasties, etc. Besides those big and famous civilizations existed in Europe and Asia, owning to the discovery of American continent of Christopher Columbus in 1492, one of the greatest civilizations was uncovered: the Mayan empire. As stated in “Maya civilization” (n.d), the Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization which is not only notably well-known for its written language system but also being famous for many achievements in art, architecture, mathematics and astronomy. Although the Maya civilization lasted for a long period of time from the Pre-classic period to the Post-classic period until now, its prosperous time happened during the Classic period which thereafter seen the mystical collapse of Maya empire ( Maya civilization, n.d.), so the purpose of this research paper is to give some basic concepts about Maya civilization and to demonstrate a number of explanations of Maya collapse in the Classic period through three sections: Maya civilization through three periods of time, Maya successful achievement and rationales behind the collapse of Maya empire in end of the Classic era (250 AD to 900 AD).
II. Discussion of findings.
1. Maya civilization through three periods of time.
Maya civilization developed through three main epochs which refer to the Mesoamerican chronology: the Pre-classic period (from 2000 BC to 250 AD), the Classic period (from 250 to 900 AD) and the Post-classic period (Maya civilization, n.d.). The
History of human is a long and mysterious journey to contemporary people to understand fully about it. However, it can be described briefly that “historical mankind has been mesmerized by the narrative of progress and civilization as codified by the first great agrarian kingdoms” (Scott 2011, p.2). By replacing hunters-gatherers and nomadic lifestyles with society of agriculture, people witnessed the flourish of many early civilizations in Europe, Asia such as Mesopotamian civilization, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, China dynasties, etc. Besides those big and famous civilizations existed in Europe and Asia, owning to the discovery of American continent of Christopher Columbus in 1492, one of the greatest civilizations was uncovered: the Mayan empire. As stated in “Maya civilization” (n.d), the Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization which is not only notably well-known for its written language system but also being famous for many achievements in art, architecture, mathematics and astronomy. Although the Maya civilization lasted for a long period of time from the Pre-classic period to the Post-classic period until now, its prosperous time happened during the Classic period which thereafter seen the mystical collapse of Maya empire ( Maya civilization, n.d.), so the purpose of this research paper is to give some basic concepts about Maya civilization and to demonstrate a number of explanations of Maya collapse in the Classic period through three sections: Maya civilization through three periods of time, Maya successful achievement and rationales behind the collapse of Maya empire in end of the Classic era (250 AD to 900 AD).
II. Discussion of findings.
1. Maya civilization through three periods of time.
Maya civilization developed through three main epochs which refer to the Mesoamerican chronology: the Pre-classic period (from 2000 BC to 250 AD), the Classic period (from 250 to 900 AD) and the Post-classic period (Maya civilization, n.d.). The