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What caused the end of Mayan civilization?

Michael A. Dingwall (michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com)

One of the most interesting mysteries in history is the sudden abandonment by the Maya of their cities. Starting around the year 800 (about 1200 years ago), the Mayan people suddenly started to abandon their splendid cities one by one. What really would cause an entire people to abandon their cities?

The Mayan civilization is perhaps the earliest civilization that developed in the Americas. As early as 11,000 BC hunter gathers began settling in the Central American areas that were to become the center on the great Mayan civilization. By 200 BC, the Omlec civilization, a predecessor to the Mayan civilization, began to develop organized societies in the same area. By 700 BC, they had learned to write and by 400 BC, they had developed a very accurate calendar. One hundred years later, they had developed a well-structured society ruled by nobles, priests and kings.

Mayan Castillo pyramid

Then, in about 100 BC, the great Mayan city of Teotihuacán was founded. It was to be the center of life in the Central American region for many centuries to come. By the year 400, an empire was being established, centered on the city. By 500, Takal, another great Mayan city was beginning to make its presence felt. Some people from Teotihuacan were moving into Takal. However, by the year 600, Teotihuacan was destroyed. It is still not certain what destroyed the city. By the year 900, Takal was also abandoned. Three hundred years later, the northern cities were also being abandoned. Again, for reasons that are not too clear to us today.

The reversal in this decline was halted somewhat, with the building of the city of Mayapan in about 1263. Twenty years later, it had become the capital of the Yucatan region. By 1281 however, the city was abandoned after a rebellion.

In 1517, Spanish forces began arriving and by the end of the next century, the region, along with most of Latin America and a large chuck of North America and most of the Caribbean were parts of Spain’s global empire. However, before, the Spaniards arrived, the Mayan had begun to desert their cities. Why?

Historians have put several theories forward. The one that seems to be most acceptable is the belief that the cities were abandoned after the people revolted. The Mayan society was one where the vast majority of people were peasants and slaves. The ruling class was made up of the nobles, priests and of course the king. The ruling class was very few in number. It is being suggested that in the cities, the peasants revolted by driving out the ruling class. In some cases, the ruling class was murdered. When the peasants “liberated” themselves, they tried to take over the management of the cities, but they could not. As a consequence, the cities disintegrated and the “liberated” peasants and slaves deserted them.

Another possible reason is soil erosion and the resultant food shorted. The slash and burn method used by the Mayan people in clearing land for agriculture damaged topsoil. After a while, food became so scarce that their cities could no longer be supported and they had to be abandoned.

Maybe we will never know for sure why perhaps the greatest Pre-European civilization in the Americas began to disintegrate. However, historians, archeologists and others will continue searching for the true reasons as to why the Mayan cities were abandoned.

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