What Happened to the Mayan Civilization The Mistery of A Great Civilization - Essay Example

?Irshad Ahmad Academia-Research.Com Order # 744069 November 06, What Happened To Mayan Civilization? A civilization, one of the ever greatest, once flourished where the forests of Guetemala now stand. The greatness of the civilization was reflected in their cities, towering pyramids and beautiful temples. They were a dignified people and this is a mystery that they collapsed to ruins. It was one of the mightiest civilizations in the world and the ancient America tasted its powers. The last recorded date of the civilization is 904 A.D. The most famous theories of the collapse of the Mayan civilization are as under however there is no consensus of opinion among the researchers: 1. The Disaster Theory: The researchers of Maya civilization believed that there was surely a catastrophic event which doomed the Mayans. The event may be an earthquake, an epidemic disease, flood or the volcanic eruption. Such a disastrous event can be the only explanation behind the immediate downfall of civilizations. It is reasonable that a large number of people can be killed or displaced only if a sudden hazard takes place. It can at once kill people and destroy cities. The theory is widely celebrated for the reason of the fall of the Mayan civilization (Thompson, p96). The theory matches with religious explanations of the causes of the falls of the nations. This theory as regards the Mayan civilization was however rejected because the history shows that Mayan civilization took about 200 years for its downfall; it was not sudden. Some of the cities declined while many flourished for quite a reasonable part of the time. Had there been an earthquake, flood, disease or volcanic eruption, each and everything would have simultaneously been removed of the surface of the earth. As this was not the situation, the theory was rejected by a large faction of researchers. 2. The Warfare Theory: The Mayans were a peaceful civilization. But their later history reveals that they were a warring people always busy in wars among in between and against others. Their historical record tells of the fact that they always discovered newer methods of warfare. The stone-carvings deciphered recently openly tell that Mayans fought frequently among themselves. Cities went to battles quite often worth mentioning of which are Tikal, Copan and Dos Pilas. In 760 A.D, Dos Piloas was destroyed after ruthless invasion. The theory is quite an interesting and reasonable explanation of the causes of the downfall of the Mayan civilization. History has always told that mutual war-fares and misunderstandings have caused the nations to drown in the seas of obscurity. The researchers have only one query here; whether they fought enough to bring their downfall? This is quite reasonable that war brings with it human sufferings, financial crisis and collateral damage. They warred with each other and the cities of the Mayan civilization caught the fire of distrust and discontent sufficient enough to disbelieve them their culture (Miller, p18). 3. The Famine Theory: In the periods of history between 1000 B.C. and 300 A.D, the basic occupation of the Mayans remained the Agriculture. They practiced in it and earned their livelihood. Agriculture was so largely practiced that even small family-plots were not left uncultivated. Corns, beans and squash were their main plantations. On seas and riversides as well as in lakes, they carried out fishing for their food needs. With their advancement in many fields, the cities grew and their population increased. Their progress attracted people from other civilizations as well. They came and penetrated them. A moment came when their population grew to the extent their resources could not bear any more. The local production was far less than their required limits. They were however an advanced civilization and learnt to upgrade their resources. They improved their agricultural procedures and equipments. They improved their trade. However the penetration of the outsiders and the increase in local population were the issues which remained unsolved. The strain on the food-production increased day by day and suddenly a famine occurred which did the rest for the Mayan civilization. They were decreased to hunger and thirst. Their charm faded away and they were now an obscure figure in the history of the world. Mayans had met their downfall (George, p41). 4. Civil Strife Theory: According to this theory, when the population increased the requirements for food and shelter increased as well. In the larger cities, the strain on food-production leveled to the alarming degree. The working class suffered more because they earned fewer wages as compared to their increasing food requirements. The society was divided into classes and the selfish and unjust approach of the ruling class turned the class divisions touched the two extremes; either of very poor or of rich. The rich enjoyed much while the poor suffered. A social discontent resulted in the social strife. The hungry always overthrows ruling elite and this is what was practiced in the Mayan civilization. The theory seems justifiable keeping in view the already present mutual war-fares of the city-states. It means the Mayan civilization had at the end lost its dignity which had always aimed at the happiness and satisfaction of its people. The people, according to this theory, had lost faith in the norms of their culture as it exploited them for the benefits of the rulers and vice versa (George, p55). 5. Environmental Change Theory: This is a very important theory as well. Climatic reasons can be one of the important reasons behind the collapse of the Mayan civilization. Agriculture was their basic and most widely celebrated occupation. They laid on the mercy of climate because the climate could destroy their Agriculture industry. Mayans were dependent on farming, hunting and fishing and therefore they were always vulnerable to droughts, famine, floods or anything else which disturbed their food supply. In fact some climatic changes have been identified through research which include the rising of the Coastal water level which caused the coastal villages to be flooded. People moved towards the larger cities which were inland. The situation produced a strain over the resources of the cities. The people never went back and with the passage of time, the strain increased causing a decline in the financial status. As more and more time passed, the system burst like a volcano and the remains were the ruins of the Mayan civilization (George, p58). 6. Abuse Of Land: The Mayans abused their land which ultimately brought an end to their civilization. They tried to produce agriculture which led to lack in resources. Water level went down and the soil eroded. They turned greedy of lands for farming and cut trees and burnt jungles so as to produce more land for the purpose. The tendency caused a lack of food for the wildlife, brought severe environmental changes and they were forced to migrate and so on. They were now a gathering of scattered people having no sense in common. This was in fact the first brick of the building of their destruction. They could not understand the basic needs of the land and the ways how to treat it in the most flexible manner George, p63). 7. Peasant Revolt: The most widely celebrated theory among all of the above is the peasant revolt. The chain of command of the Mayan civilization depended on the slave labor. Priests and nobles occupied the towers of power. Priests and nobles were rich, happy and powerful but in minority. Miller tells that at a certain time, the oppressed Mayan labor class gave up what they did do and retreated into Puter Jungle (Miller, p22). Thompson concedes saying that in all the cities, the ruling class was driven out and massacred by the peasants. Power was now in the hands of the peasants (Thompson, p105). Resultantly, the whole system recycled; the priests and nobles were now the labor class while the peasants ruled them. The system collapsed because the priests and nobles did not know how to work the land. The fall of the Mayan civilization has been one of the greatest mysteries since long. Digging was carried out now and then to reach the accepted statement but the researchers never agreed. They have never the exact solid data which states with uncertainty about the collapse of the Mayan civilization. It is presumed that the combination of some of the factors stated above may have been the cause of the downfall of the Mayan civilization. May be the famine resulted in starvation leading to civil strife and then the mutual war fare of the city states were the basic reasons which brought an end to the Mayan civilization. This is however satisfactory that archaeologists have not given up their hope. Archaeological diggings are being carried out and advanced technologies are being relied upon in the purpose of reaching at a final statement. It is expected that conclusion about the downfall of the Mayan civilization is but a few hands away. Works Cited. Thompson, J E. S. The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization. , 1954. Print. Miller, Robert R. Mexico: A History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985. Print. Stuart, George E, and Gene S. Stuart. The Mysterious Maya. Washington: National Geographic Society, 1977. Print. Read More