Mayan Environmental Issues

In early civilization, a complex society known as the Maya resided in lowlands of Mesoamerica. At the time that they lived, the Mayans were considered to be one of the most advanced societies. Their culture and their cultural influences on other societies are constantly being studied even today. The Mayans were known to be prosperous people with a growing population, rich agricultural, unique architecture, and sacrificial religious beliefs. Knowing this information, many wonder what caused such an advanced society to suddenly disappear. One theory explains that environmental stresses at the time may have lead the Mayans to their end. Like many complex societies throughout time, agriculture was essential in order to sustain a civilization.
The climate in the lowlands that the Mayas resided in were known to be unstable. Rainfall quantities could have varied, allowing droughts to be common, and making rains violent when occurring. In pollen records from Yucatán, there was an indication of a dryness between 750 and 850 B.C.E. It is also possible that many of these environmental problems were the effects of deforestation and environmental changes. A drought such as indicated, would have been catastrophically to the Mayas, who had never faced such a problem
Warfare in the Maya life mainly branched off from the need to sacrifice human life for their gods. The Mayas believed that they were made of corn and water, and that human sacrifice was greatest gifts to their corn gods. Warfare would allow the Mayas to use processes to select individuals to sacrifice to their gods. An example of this would be Mayan ball game; the losers of the game would be the selected few who were