Introduction
The likelihood that any civilization of the world could die is very high in societies today (Tainter 1990:38). However, many people still believe that modern societies possess immunity to such occurrences primarily due to its enhanced scientific and technological capacities as well as the benefits it derives from advanced knowledge of economics and history (Tainter, 1990: 38).
These believes are however lacking in solid base due to the tendency to embrace the assertion that collapse of civilizations is possible in the present time as it was in the past.
Evidence of the collapse of Aztec, Inca and Maya communities in Southern America are clear examples of how societies collapse in the world. These societies collapsed leaving behind traces of highly established cities and rich culture abandoned while the society survivors were condemned back to semi primitive modes of living back in the jungle. However, it has been argued that some of these examples are a representation of change and assimilation of civilizations rather than actual collapse of complex societies.
The lowland classic Maya (300-900 AD) is an example of a collapsed society that have behind legacies manifested in traces of temples and cities ruins lying in the jungle (Tainter, 1990: 40).
The Aztec (900 AD-1520) and the Incas (400AD-1532) (Shneck and Strohi, 1995: 6) are examples of civilizations present in Southern America and form among the greatest civilization of the world at their time (Shneck & Strohi, 1995: 8). The Maya established cities such as Copan, Tikal, and Piedras Negras among others. On the other hand Aztecs were wanderers until they established their capital city Tenochtitlan while the Inca settled at the Andes Mountains (Shneck & Strohi, 1995: 8).
The fall of Incas and Aztec demonstrates the effects of crisis situation to civilizations whereby societies lack adaptation mechanism on occurrence of a crisis leading to rapid collapse of civilizations. The fall of the Maya on the other hand demonstrate a gradual process of decline of a civilization which is highly influenced by internal and external factors prevailing at the time of its existence.
According to Tainter (1990:38), “Collapse of civilization is a topic of widespread of widespread concern and of highest social significance” The reasons attributed to complex society extinction continues to raise questions among the members of society and the entire world at large.
Disagreements arise from different terminologies and epistemology hence the need to clarify terms and concepts commonly utilized in collapsing of civilizations (Demarest, 2004: 240). In recent analysis of civilizations, the term collapse has been redefined as the rapid diminishing in complexity in a particular political system (Demarest, 2004: 242).
Whether or not we choose to believe that contemporary societies are less vulnerable to collapse, the opposite of this notion remains a troubling concern. Since collapse of civilizations has taken place in the past, there is a high likelihood that given the same conditions in the present complex societies, the situation is likely to repeat itself. For years, various theories have been advanced to explain causes of collapse of complex societies and civilizations.
However, no one single theory can adequately explain the causes of collapse across all societies. This is primarily due to scholars narrowing their studies to specific regions and attempting to generalize the findings to a wider society hence the general understanding of there theories remain elusive (Tainter, 1990: 38). Therefore, these theories fail in terms of concepts and logic.
The classic Maya rise downfall
The classic period of Maya (AD 300-900) is derived from the time when Maya community erected stelae curved monuments with dates equivalently to 3114 BC in our normal calendar (McKillop, 2004: 8). The earliest dated stela that was recovered is from AD 292 at Tikal and the last one was dated AD 909 at Tonina Mexico.
These stela were erected in front of temples and palaces in cities which were the major viewing areas in the classic period (McKillop, 2004: 7). Although the early classic period registered some level of civilization, the greatest height of Maya civilization in this period was achieved in the late classical period which was characterized by increased building efforts by the Mayans and high density populations in the regions. In addition there was evidence of advancement in artistic endeavors.
Modern researches have revealed significant variability in classic Maya civilization in terms of unique arts and architectural designs as well as lacking economic and political systems which may have largely contributed to the collapse of this civilization (Demarest, 2004:7). Towards the end of the century, classic Maya civilization began to unravel in considerable number of regions (Demarest, 2004: 111).
Ceremonial centers which were mostly constructed in the 8th century were characterized by considerable increment in terms of warfare and ritual activities (Demarest, 2004:111). However, despite the expansion evident in the late 8th century, the beginning of 9th century saw the southern lowland region of Peten display downward trends in terms of civilization.
The declining process differed in various regions whereby some regions were characterized by gradual decline while others were characterized by swift and violent incidences that were characterized by massive destructions. However, areas such as Belize and northern Yucatan continuously flourished during this period registering increased population growth as well as invention of attractive architectural designs (Demarest, 2004: 111).
Maya historical archives are largely mute on most economic issues but provide us with considerably adequate information on the prevalent political structure and religious power (Demarest, 2004: 208). The classical Maya state was widespread over a large Geographical area and persisted over a period of two millenniums.
However, they lacked centralized state governance and in its place had theatre states hence failed to achieve political unification in the period (Demarest, 2004: 238). The studies of collapse of the Maya classic period is often characterized by images of abandoned rich culture of vast city ruins with stone temples, palaces and monuments that have been long overgrown by the jungle (Demarest, 2004: 240).
The Maya societies pride themselves in accomplishment of various ends. The community pioneered the development of two calendars as well as providing a clearly outlined method of calculating time.
Their solar calendar had 365 days which they used in studying and understanding the planting seasons while their festival calendar had 260 days and was used in determination of religious ceremonies (Kubesh et al, 2009:16). The community also invented a mathematical system was inclusive of zero as well as observing the sun moon and stars to further cement their understanding of astronomy (Kubesh et al, 2009: 16).
In addition, they developed a system of writing by utilizing symbols and also constructed high pyramid and intricate temples where religious activities were conducted. They also had a pool of highly skilled potters and weavers who engaged in creative arts (Kubesh et al, 2009:16)
A consensus is still lacking on the nature and causes of decline in the classic Maya civilization (Demarest, 2004: 240) which stems from incomplete nature of the archaeological records in the critical period when the civilization was in existence. This is despite the remarkable efforts by anthropologists and archaeologists to fill the gaps in the past 20 years (Demarest, 2004: 240).
In addition, great variability in terms of classic Maya civilization as well as the tendency for scholars to narrow the study in subs regions and then attempting to generalize the findings into the larger model in explaining the transformation of Maya culture leads to further disagreements.
In Maya civilization, the political systems and associations associated with the kingdom experienced transformation and declined leading to its collapse. This saw an end to a theatre state mode of governance that was dominated by holy lords and funerary cults, political hegemonies, and the state patronage networks of redistribution of fine ceramics and high status artifacts as well as ornaments (Demarest, 2004:242).
The collapse of Maya civilization took place by the century and was characterized by depopulation of major cities, drastic reduction in public architecture among other changes in cultural orientation of the society (Demarest, 2004: 242). Classic Maya political organization and institutions as well as cultural features and artifacts disappeared.
The classical Maya period political and ideological structure was characterized by charismatic leadership who had an ideological base for power. The society had flexible and well outlined system of royal succession as well as a control that ensured effective distribution of status reinforcing goods (Demarest, 2004:243)
In addition, the elite competed for positions of power and the society made significant investment in monumental architecture and other elements of ritual propaganda (Demarest, 2004: 243). The structural problem prevalent in the classical Maya political order may have significantly contributed to its collapse.
The leaders had divine power to intervene on behalf of the subjects through blood letting rituals and this made him a critical component to the order of things as he determined the people orientation of the universe. Previously, the people had never questioned the omnipotent power of their rulers and this was passed over to generations. However, these beliefs started to wear off due to occurrence of natural disasters which instigated increases in warfare in the region.
Researchers have attributed this collapse to various internal factors and external factors. Natural disasters were prevalent during the period.
Earthquakes were evident in Xunantunich and Quirigua while hurricanes and epidemic diseases such as yellow fever evidenced by skeletal evidence from Tikal further justifies the attribution of collapse to natural disasters. Further research on excavated remains suggested incidences of nutritional decline among the people which may have resulted from famine incidences leading to declining of population.
The collapse of the Maya is further attributed to ecological factors such as decline in soil fertility; over exploitation of the fertile lands that resulted from population pressure as well as failure of productivity of the grassland. Evidence of climate change has also been established in most regions that were occupied by the Maya which may have heavily impacted on the farm productivity. In addition, social disasters such as popular revolt and broken thrones highly contributed to the fall.
Maya civilization was characterized by remarkable social differences between the elite and the non elite classes and the establishment of trading centers led to its collapse. The community also faced stiff competition from Mexican states and due to the failure of the traditional ruling elite to improve competitive efficiency; the civilization succumbed to these forces.
Further, civil warfare and foreign invasion evident in the society facilitated its collapse. However, lack of adequate evidence to prove invasion in most parts of the Maya regions renders invasion as an effect and less of a cause of the collapse.
Three competing theories dominate in explanation of collapse of Maya civilization. First, overpopulation and overexploitation of land triggered the occurrence of ecological disasters leading to abandonment of cities (McKillop, 2004: 7).
Secondly endemic warfare among competing states precipitated establishment of military and trading alliances as well as intermarriages among lowland city states and by attacking and overpowering of neighbors by lowland city states. This is breakdown of dynastic powers causing urban centers to collapse (McKillop, 2004: 7). Other theories attempt to implicate the collapse to catastrophic environmental change (McKillop, 2004:7)
The Aztecs rise and fall
Aztec civilization represents one of the most extraordinary civilizations in the recorded history. “The empire stretched from the pacific ocean to the gulf of Mexico from the land of Zapotecs in the south of the Coastal Veracruz and Tibasco in the North where both Northern and The southern coastlines had hot tropical lowlands making it suitable for the inhabitants” (Cremin, 2007: 318).
The Aztec pattern of urban life depicted high levels of advancement featuring impressive roads, canals, aqueducts, temples as well as extensive commerce and a middle class of professional traders who ensured supply of goods to the society. In addition, they had improved buildings and a finer taste in arts (Cremin, 2007: 318).
The true rise of a unique civilization in the central valley of Mexico became evident in the last 2000 years. The largest city in the world at the time was established- the metropolis of Teotihuacán which had 150000 inhabitants but was later destroyed by fire.
In 1428, three previously warring city states Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan formed an alliance which became the stronghold of Aztec (Cremin, 2007: 318). The merger was successful to such extent that by the time of Spanish arrival in 1519, the Aztecs had the highest populations in most cities than any other group in America (Cremin, 2007: 318)
The mode of governance in the Aztec community was indirect. The Aztec emperor reigned supreme over all his conquered lands but in practice, the central mode of governance was intensely weak and the subjects were governed mostly through threats and intimidations (Cremin, 2007: 318). Through imperial e expansion, Aztec empire accommodated smaller state empires in order to establish collective security; however, they were unable to subdue their neighboring powerful allies
The Aztec was aggressive and was constantly involved in warfare with neighbors making them enemies with the adjacent groups. The Aztec population was nomadic hunters. They lacked a written alphabet consequently using pictures to transmit their stories. They wrote in codices made from bark and animal skin as well as recording information on stone monuments (Kubesh et al, 2009:18).
Their craftsmen created their artwork using clay metal feathers and obsidian and their clothes reflected a person’s age and status held in society. “Their staple food included vegetables such as corn and beans” (Kubesh et al, 2009: 18).
The central government was ruled by one leader and closely related extended families had a leader who represented the interests of the groups. These leaders made up the city councils that were responsible for electing the ruler (Kubesh et al, 2009:20). Religion was also very important among the Aztec. They erected temples and pyramids which were the venues from where the priests performed the religious duties (Kubesh et al, 2009:20).
They further believed in heaven and an underworld and that where a person went after death depended on his earthly life (Kubesh et al, 2009:20).The Aztecs, just like the Incas were also agriculturally advanced in that they developed irrigation methods. The farmers rendered a portion of their crop to the leader who stored them until occurrences of famine (Kubesh et al, 2009:20).
Their accomplishment included; high levels of advancements in science and Mathematics whereby they developed a number system that was more advanced than any cultures at the time. The society also invented medicinal treatments such as drinks and salves which were advanced for the time.
They also had an established trading network compared to other groups as well as great accomplishments achieved in farming. Further, fine artistic work was demonstrated through design of beautiful jewels which were made using gold, feathers etc (Kubesh et al, 2009:22).
The Aztecs had well established markets where buyers and sellers met for purposes of exchanging goods. All products generated in the Aztec economy were found in the Tlatelolco market which was organized in guilds and comprised of hereditary membership. (Cremin, 2007: 319).
This led to emergence of two social groups, The Aztec commoners who had the lowest status in the community, the merchants who fell in the middle class and nobility class. However most merchants enriched themselves through enterprising making them more financially endowed than the nobility class (Cremin, 2007: 319).
The Aztec collapsed after the Spanish took prisoner the Emperor Montezuma 2 and conquered the city with guns cannons and horses which the Aztec army had not seen before and between 1519 and 1521 the Spanish won and destroyed much of Aztec city and enslaved members of Aztec society to build their own Mexico city. Further, millions of Aztec solders wee killed and died of European diseases that the Spanish carried with them (Kubesh et al, 2009:2010).
However, it may be evident that the Spanish had better technology in terms of weapons but this does not fully explain the reason as to why the Aztecs were successfully conquered by the Spanish despite the voluminous numbers of solders in comparison to Spanish. From the beginning, Cortez was aware of the numerous enemies that the Aztec had as well as the community had started demonstrating signs of weakness even before his arrival.
The imperialisms was negatively impacting on the community as the previously conquered people were beginning to show discontent towards the Aztec rule. Further, devastating droughts spread through the region spreading dissention across the empire.
The Aztec was deeply religious and they appeased their gods through human sacrifices (Cremin, 2007: 318). Since the gods demand for human sacrifice exceeded the internal supply, the Aztecs terrorized their neighbors and this hostility provoked by the raids led to their downfall in 1521.
The Inca rise and fall
The Incas ruled the largest empire to develop before the arrival of Europeans. Their realm was referred to as Tawantisuyu which was a region of great environmental endowment as well as cultural diversity. The provinces featured the coastal deserts, tropical rainforests, high mountain valleys and grassland rising up towards Andes Mountains (Cremin, 2007: 324). The empire traces its roots from a region adjacent to the city of Cuzco in Peru.
By 1200-1300 the Incas had developed their unique system of centralized governments and had continued to extend the system of governance to neighboring groups (Cremin, 2007: 324). And by 1400, through numerous alliances and military conquest, the empire had taken control over the entire region of Cuzco and was further expanding its conquest to distant regions.
At the regions of pacific coast where the Incas Empire had conquered they often left the local rulers in charge of the regions while they administered their own administration at areas that proved to be of more importance (Cremin, 2007: 324). The rule of Inca monarchs was also highly advanced and contained high elements of civilization (Spense, n d: 189)
The Incas lacks documented evidence of a written language and archeologists suggest that they used symbols and diagrams. The official language was quecha which is still prevalent among the present Andean people of Peru and Bolivia (Kubesh et al, 2009:24). They also made clothing which was used as a symbol of status in the society.
In the Cuzco region, the royal Inca families controlled most of the productive lands and the society utilized religion to justify their rights to rule over the region of Andes as well as convincing other groups to become integrated in their empire (Cremin, 2007: 325).
They subscribed to the sun as their supreme deity which was also important in food production in addition they also believed in other forces that were associated with supernatural powers such as the moon and thunder and lightning. The royalty made special sacrifices to the sun while the locals made simple sacrifices to the local earth mother to appease him to provide fertility for their lands in order for them to grow crops (Cremin, 2007: 325). Human sacrifices were rarely made unless under certain specified ritual contexts.
In some cases, boys and girls were purified and then buried alive or left ft the mountain top to die. This however was common in the southern parts of the empire (Cremin, 2007: 325). The members of Incas community made their living out of farming and herding farm animals. In addition, they practiced irrigation and built terraces along the hilly regions to prevent soil erosion (Kubesh et al, 2009: 22)
Numerous accomplishments of the Inca society have been documented among which are; development of a uniform mode of communication through quecha language despite lack an established system of learning. The society also developed a system of counting and record keeping that was referred to as quipu which was used in collection of census data, collecting taxes, as well as recoding the occurrence of major event (Kubesh et al, 2009:28).
The Incas society also developed highly skilled constructions of houses without mortar by keeping the stones tightly together such that some of the erected buildings still stand today (Kubesh et al, 2009:pg 24). “They also constructed networks of stone roads that covered fifteen thousand miles and produced beautiful artwork including weavings and metal workings” (Kubesh et al, 2009:24).
The collapse of the Inca civilization took place at the hands of Spanish led by Francis Pizzarro in the 16th Century (Clarke, 1982: 22). This highly facilitated to the rapid decline and collapse of the once very strong empire. The entire destruction process of the Incas Empire took place in between 1532 and 1533 (Clarke, 1982: 22).
The Spanish had a total of 170 solders and the Inca army totaled to about 40000 men. The Spanish mode of attack was capturing the God king and luring him with friendship promises by Pizzarro and this event led to devastating impact on the Incas and the solders panicked and fled (Clarke, 1982: 22).
In this period, eleven tons of gold that formed religious statutes collected and melted which resulted in almost all the Inca cultural symbols being destroyed leading to decline in cultural endowment. However, the god was killed by Pizzarro who appointed himself as his successor (Clarke, 1982: 22), From the Spanish conquest we conclude that the Spanish succeeded through sheer brilliance.
They achieved this through exploitation of Incas societal weakness in terms of societal beliefs. Atahualpa was the sole personification of the community’s civilization and his capture disrupted the community requiring immediate cultural adaptation that was impractical to the Incas at the time (Clarke, 1982: 22). The community lack of assistance to Atahualpa rendered it vulnerable to the Spaniards attacks since they lacked an authority to spearhead leadership in the community.
The destruction of Incas civilization took place in three different stage (Clarke, 1982: 22). The community experienced traumatic shock and disbelief when their head of state was captured and its large military base was defeated. This gave them a general feeling of weakness yet they lacked a means of response since they did not have any governing authority to lead them into recovery process. Further, this conquest saw numerous cultural symbols and artifacts destroyed which was a rich symbol of Incas culture.
In addition, the community had a weak system of governance which upon disruption suffered irreversible damage leading to submergence of culture. Inca civilization was however not immediately abolished after the conquest of their head of state (Clarke, 1982: 23) but this event resulted in overall declination of the civilization evident in loss of self determination among the Incas people, loss of cultural vitality, and loss of real governing power.
There were significant decline in the demographic trends of the Incas population. The initial contact with Europeans is believed to have resulted in rampant disease spread that affected the members of the Incas population. Small pox eradicated a considerable amount of people in the Incas regions of Andes which caused devastating effects on the lives of the people reducing them to about a third.
The huge number of deaths resulting from European plagues, Inca civil war, and Spanish conquest caused the demographic decline among the Incas. The traces of Incas civilization are limited presently as its conquerors destroyed most of the empire’s treasures and dismantled the many structures that had been erected diligently by the Incas craftsmen. However, archaeologists continued efforts have seen some elements of Incas civilization rediscovered.
Conclusion
From our above case studies, it is evident that collapse of civilizations has taken place in the past and is likely to take place in the future if societies do not take the necessary measures to protect their cultures. Collapse of civilizations has been evident in the past and continues to threaten the modern society complex.
In our cases, we have seen societies collapse as a result of a gradual pattern of declination that is highly characterized by prevalent conditions in the society. Contemporary societies are being assimilated gradually into the dominant societal systems of the world consequently leading to their decline. Most indigenous societies are attempting to replicate the modern western cultures leading to abandonment of their values as well as their culture and adopting the western culture.
If these societies fail to address the prevalent factors leading to their diminishing, they are likely to collapse eventually. In addition, other societies are collapsing as a result of violent wars which cause deaths among members of societies consequently causing decline in societies. Societies with few members should avoid incidences of wars since such incidences can sweep the entire community.
It is therefore important for people in the modern society to change their attitudes towards the likelihood of the modern societies collapsing and work towards ensuring that these societies are preserved at all levels. In addition, societies should establish measures to protect their members from adverse effects of natural calamities and ecological problems that adversely affect human life. Protecting human life as well as the society’s cultural materials and artifacts will enable every civilization to stand the test of time.
Reference List
Clarke, Magnus. (1982). The nuclear destruction of Britain, London: Routledge
Cremin, Eideen. (2007). Archaeologica: The world’s most significant sites and cultural treasures, London: Frances Lincoln limited.
Demarest, Andrew Arthur (2004). Ancient Maya: the rise and fall of a rainforest civilization, NY: Cambridge University press.
Katie Kubesh, Nikki McNeil & Kimm Belloto. (2009). Mayans, Aztecs & Incas, London: In the hands of a child.
McKillop, Irene Heather. (2004). The ancient Maya; new perspectives, California: ABC-CLIO publishers.
Shneck, Susan & Strohi, Mary. (1995). Mayas. Aztecs, Incas: Cooperative learning activities, Scholastic Inc.
Spence Chalmers Thomas Lewis James. (Not dated). The myths of Mexico and Peru: Aztec, Maya and Inca. London: Forgotten books.
Tainter, A Joseph. (1990). The collapse of complex societies. NY: Cambridge University press