The mystery of the disappearance of the Mayan civilization continues to exist as one of the most intriguing secrets in the history of humanity. It is very difficult to explain why one of the most prominent civilizations in the world faded and collapsed so abruptly, and how it became possible to experience such an extending cultural and social collapse. Numerous historians support the fact that the Mayan civilization with its abundance of sophisticated architectural buildings, monuments, and sculptures including large palaces and temples that formed the structure of Mayan cities had fallen in the twinkle of an eye (McGill, 2009). There exist many theories, explaining the events, which might take place during the sudden disruption of the Mayan civilization. In the following paper, the two most common of these theories will be addressed in detail to identify the most probable scenario of the Mayan civilization fall.
One of the common theories, explaining what happened with the Mayans, is the theory of sudden warming that caused mortal hunger. This theory is widely promoted by a variety of specialists including Richardson Gill and John Hoopes (Berdan, 2010). According to this theory, the reason for the fall of the Maya was a continuous drought that caused a series of bad harvests. As a result, the inhabitants of huge Mayan cities found themselves in a situation, when they were no longer able to provide a food supply for themselves. To find at least some scarce ways to feed themselves, the Mayans had to leave their luxurious and sophisticated cities, and move into the rural territories. However, even such measures did not help the people to go through the hardships of food shortages, and eventually, they all died (“Natives, Middle American”, 2011).
The other common theory of the Mayan fall is in the idea that this civilization had disappeared on the reason of a terrible natural disaster such as a huge hurricane or a flood. This theory is supported by such scholars as Hodell, Coe, and Carmack (Berdan, 2010). The suppositions of these scholars are all focused on the thought that the fall of the Mayan occurred incredibly fast, and for that reason, something terrible and spontaneous must have happened to have such an effect of abruptness. The theory of a sudden calamity seems to be trustworthy, especially with regards to the fact that the major cities of the Mayan were left at once as if people had been trying to escape from a terrible disaster. However, this theory does not explain why the Mayans continued dwelling in smaller places such as villages and settlements for a certain period.
Evaluating the above-mentioned approaches to explaining the mystery behind the Mayan fall, it is important to note that the first theory appears to have more common sense in it. Such a conclusion can be made because there are several pieces of evidence that although the Mayans had suddenly left their big cities, they continued to dwell in rural territories for some time (Berdan, 2010). This theory is also supported by the situation in modern cities, where the problem of food shortages is only solved by the options, provided by global logistics. As the Mayans had no such options, they had to leave their big cities, and then, even in rural territories, they did not manage to overcome the consequences of regular droughts and perished due to hunger.
References
Berdan, F. (2010). Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans. In H. Birx (Ed.), 21st century anthropology: A reference handbook. (pp. 121-132). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
McGill, S. (2009). Mayan Timeline. Mayan Timeline, 1-10.
Natives, Middle American. (2011). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1-4.