Mayan Civilization
Dwayne Sinclair 1
Taking Sides paper
Prof John Dunn
History 1111
02/26/2012
THE FALL OF MAYA CIVILIZATION DUE TO ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS.
The collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of environmental factors which
eventually led to warfare as a way of coming up with solutions to avoid the inevitable
collapse of this civilization.
Environmental factors like over population, agricultural scarcities, disease, natural
disasters, were the major factors for the collapse of the Maya civilization. Judging from
archeological evidence from the lost chronicles of the Maya kings, by David Drew (university
of California press, 1999). David focuses on the bones of the Maya people throughout the
region in sites such as Tikal, Lamilpa, and Altar de sacrificios, with similar stories of an
unhealthy and stressed population, shrunk skeletons, decrease in life expectancy of children
which had not occurred in earlier societies of the Maya. The fact that similar patterns of
deterioration was found in more than one area shows a pattern that spread all across the maya
region. According to David, the Maya's view of their universe saw a ruler as having divine
powers. Also in the text from Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica by Payson D Sheets (AltaMira
press, 2003) who argues that the collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of military
expansion agrees with the view point that the rulers divine powers could influence the gods by
by bloodletting sacrifices, essential for the proper functioning of the Maya society. Sacrifices in
various forms like food and drink, human sacrifice in the form of captives needed to appease
the gods for the purpose of
Taking Sides paper
Prof John Dunn
History 1111
02/26/2012
THE FALL OF MAYA CIVILIZATION DUE TO ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS.
The collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of environmental factors which
eventually led to warfare as a way of coming up with solutions to avoid the inevitable
collapse of this civilization.
Environmental factors like over population, agricultural scarcities, disease, natural
disasters, were the major factors for the collapse of the Maya civilization. Judging from
archeological evidence from the lost chronicles of the Maya kings, by David Drew (university
of California press, 1999). David focuses on the bones of the Maya people throughout the
region in sites such as Tikal, Lamilpa, and Altar de sacrificios, with similar stories of an
unhealthy and stressed population, shrunk skeletons, decrease in life expectancy of children
which had not occurred in earlier societies of the Maya. The fact that similar patterns of
deterioration was found in more than one area shows a pattern that spread all across the maya
region. According to David, the Maya's view of their universe saw a ruler as having divine
powers. Also in the text from Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica by Payson D Sheets (AltaMira
press, 2003) who argues that the collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of military
expansion agrees with the view point that the rulers divine powers could influence the gods by
by bloodletting sacrifices, essential for the proper functioning of the Maya society. Sacrifices in
various forms like food and drink, human sacrifice in the form of captives needed to appease
the gods for the purpose of