Mystery of the Maya civilization
Maya civilization is considered as a mysterious civilization that existed in ancient time. However, the mystery of the Maya is still not undiscovered as no one is sure about the Mayans, their method of living and the the exact reason of the rapid collapse of the Maya civilization. It is believed that the Maya civilization started on 12th August, 3113 B.C., but the archeologists believed that the Maya civilization came into being in 3000 B.C. The Maya civilization, however, disappeared mysteriously in 800 A.D. – 925 A.D. The Mayans lived majorly in the areas, which are now known as Northern Yucatan and Paden; they lied there in the low-lying regions. In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered a continent where a backward nation was living, which was later named as America, but he was not aware of the splendid and organized Maya empire. However, the countries of Maya have managed their religious affairs effectively, and the civilization also comprised of an accurate and a complex calendar system. Additionally, it is also considered that many secrets are associated with the Maya civilization, such as this civilization has not disappeared. Further, Maya do not have faith on the end of the world, the ancient Maya introduced the concept of the zero, the Maya world is underground, and Mayans enjoyed with sauna, which is a steamy stone, and the Maya sauna is still presented to the visitors at the resorts and restaurants. Additionally, blood sports were common in the ancient Maya civilization, and the Maya pyramids are an indication of the astronomical actions.
However, no one have any idea about the prompt deterioration of the Maya civilization. But, the question still remains there, that what is the real reason of the destruction of the Maya civilization. There are just some educated guesses and theories that describe the destruction of the Maya civilization, but as a matter of the fact the exact reason of the decline of this civilization is not known. Most of the educated guesses and the theories believe that the climate catastrophe is responsible for the devastation of the Maya civilization, but the European civilization had also faced several climatic changed such as Little Ice Age, and the plagues. But, it is also considered that the civilization of Europe has faced and, endured all the climatic changes, and continued to survive. So, climatic change cannot be considered as the cause of the decline of the Maya civilization.
In order to determine the mystery of the death of Maya civilization the Earth scientists have cautiously analyzed the samples of the rock from Yucatan that has shown that the level of the water in the local lakes and the rainfall declined, the entire Maya region experienced mild drought particularly in the summers because of which Mayans suffered a lot. However, hurricanes in oceans that paved the way to the rainstorms on the land are also considered as a reason for the destruction of the Maya civilization. But, there are no records available to the archaeologists regarding population census and the production figure of Maya civilization from which it can be accurately said that hurricanes paved the way to the destruction of entire population and agricultural production. Further, the guess that the Maya civilization became the victim of the hurricanes is not true because the cities of the Maya were organized and sustained, so it is not possible that they have done nothing to in their cities for protection from the natural disasters and other circumstances.
Furthermore, the archaeologists believe that it was not a mild drought that lead paved the way to the destruction of the Maya Empire, but there are political reasons for the destruction. The archaeologists consider that the Maya Empire had destroyed itself just like the Asian and the European powers destroy themselves by fighting a war till the depletion of their sources, and till the death of all the soldiers. So, Maya civilization could not be a victim of the climatic change as they were very powerful and strong polity that was spread in the huge area of Yucatan. The people of the Maya civilization had advanced and sophisticated agricultural techniques and they had also made much of the land useful for the farm purpose, for building homes, and roads. So, according to the archaeologists if this fact and their sophistication in technology is considered then it seems impossible that Maya civilization had not survived the scarcity of the food and drought. Hence, the demise of the Maya Empire may be due to the combination of the environment and the social factors, and due to other complex factors that are more multifaceted than the drought and the food shortages.
However, many scholars have also put forward their opinion about the abandonment of the Maya cities located in lowlands of South. Some scholars consider that the Maya had worn out its environment in order to indicate that it was not in a position to maintain such a huge population. However, other scholars dealing with the study of Maya civilization argue that the continuous warfare among the competing states or the cities had paved the way to the breakdown of the family, military, and the trade relations that existed between them, which had ultimately lead to the decline and destruction of the traditional system of the empire power. As a result of this the stature of the powerful lords came to an end, and their complicated traditions of the ceremonies and rituals also ended. After that the environmental changes such as drought played its role in wiping out the Maya civilization, because the drought had hit those areas where rain water was essential for irrigation, and for drinking such as in Tikal city, but people did not get the required amount of water as a result of which they became deprive of the source of food and drinking.
Hence, according to the scholars, the overuse and misuse of the land, overpopulation, droughts, and extensive warfare have played their role in the decline of the Maya civilization in the lowlands of the Southern area. A few cities of Maya, however, flourished in the highlands of Yucatan from 900 A.D. to 1500 A.D. But, with the arrival of the Spanish invaders, the Maya cities buried under the green layer of the rainforest, as most of them were residing in the agricultural villages. But, most of the Mayanists, however, do not consider the foreign invasion as a cause of the Mayan civilization’s decline. According to the Mayanists, the Teotihuacan impact across the entire region of Maya may include the military involvement, but it is noted that these involvements have exerted positive influence on the Maya civilization. So, the Mayonists consider that the military defeat cannot be considered as the reason of the collapse of the complex and huge Maya civilization.
Further, the Mayonists have indicated that when the Spanish invaders arrived, the cities of Maya were present in the classic form. The Spanish invaders found a land that was just a poor reflection of the earlier brilliance of the Maya civilization. The Spanish, however, attempted to destroy the antique Maya civilization. In order to destroy the civilization, they burned the codices containing information regarding the Maya civilization, so that this civilization will always remain a mystery. Hence, the efforts for understanding the unique culture of the Maya civilization have been restrained because of the destruction of the history relating to the culture of the May civilization. However, the Europeans and Spain have gained enormous wealth from the Maya labor. The Maya slave labor, however, worked on the exceptionally huge agricultural land as well as in the mining operations. However, after the conquest of the Spanish invaders the traditions and the stories of the Maya civilization were passed to the succeeding generations, but they were influenced by the European beliefs and practices, and specifically by the Roman Catholicism. After the arrival of Europeans, most of the Maya, however, experienced prosecution of the values and beliefs, and the political dominance for centuries.
Further, the Mayanists are of the view that it is not wrong that the Maya tradition and the society changed significantly, but still there are many people having Maya traditions, and they have their separate identity that is evident from their beliefs, traditions, values, and the collective history. The Mayanists have also pointed out that the types of wars fought in the Maya civilization include the wars between different kingdoms, wars among the cities located within the same kingdom, fights between the commoners, and the civil wars for overthrowing the kingships. Further, the Mayanists indicated that the warfare of Maya was, however, chronic, powerful, intense, but incapable of resolving the situation due to the shortage of the food as well as transportation, so it became difficult to unify the entire region in the form of the empire. As a result of this, the wars became more frequent, extreme, and intense that at last resulted in the collapse of the Maya civilization.
Moreover, some experts are of the opinion that the Maya civilization collapsed because of the diseases. These diseases spread rapidly transmitted the infections in the population resulting in the death of a lot of people. But, some experts also consider that the diseases cannot be considered as the reason of the decline of the Maya civilization, because diseases spread quickly, and they might have resulted in the sudden death of people, but the Maya civilization survived for many years. So, the European introduction of the diseases, for example, typhoid, cholera, measles, small pox, and others cannot be considered as the the cause of the Maya’s destruction.
Further, if it is considered that the Black Death has affected the Maya, then rapid mortality, and the social disorganization and disturbance would have been observed, but the Maya civilization survived for many years before coming to an end, and no rapid changes were observed. Further, if the history is considered then there are many people who have survived and recovered from such diseases. Moreover, the parasitic diseases and other diseaases found in the tropical rain forests are still present in people that are residing in the primitive areas having poor sanitation, and lower standard of living. So, diseases are not the culprit of the Maya’s devastation.
However, some theorists are of the view that the lowlands of Maya are not active geographically, so earthquake occurred there, and the entire area became the victim of the earthquake. The area undergone structural damages that cannot be repaired and the Maya civilization came to an end. But, other theorists are of the view that earthquake cannot be considered as the reason of the Maya’s destruction because the areas surrounding the Maya were not affected; just the Maya civilization came to an end mysteriously. The socio-political factors are also considered as responsible for the decline of the Maya civilization. The experts are of the opinion that the changes in the political and the economic environment, particularly because of the competition with the opponent states of Mexico have paved the way to the destruction of the Maya civilization. The experts are of the opinion that the highland cities and the states of Mexico had brought wealth, skilled labor force, manpower, and mobilized vast resources of the food, which left the Maya in a weak and vulnerable position. The ruling elites of the Maya, however, did not introduce the adequate changes that were required to confront the prevailing competition, and to make the survival of their people certain.
The death of the Maya can also be considered from the economic relationship between the Mesoamerican people and low-land Maya. It is also considered that the changes in the trade networks of the Mesoamerica have isolated the central and the southern lowland. Trade was important for the Maya, but the ruling elites did not considered this fact, and the trade routes were abandoned, which had left out the entire trade network, as a result the Maya became isolated economically. If modern Maya religion is considered then it is colorful combination of the ancient Maya beliefs and traditions and Catholicism. The mythology of the Maya, however, merged easily with the Catholicism due to similarity in their belief systems. Both the religions have priests, worship the images, and burn the incense during the rituals.
In a nutshell, the entire Maya civilization is still covered with the coating of mystery. The Maya civilization that started in the 8th century, advanced in the 9th century, suddenly came to an end, the people living there either died or moved to other places because of the hardships they had to face. The cultures that had paved the way to the development of sophisticated and advanced techniques for the agriculture, irrigation, convoluted social structures, and astrology, rapidly collapse, but no one knows its reason.
Some say that it is because of the diseases, some say it is because of the natural disasters such as diseases, hurricanes and earthquakes, some say that it vanished because of the droughts, socio-political reasons, poor management by the elites, abandonment of the trade routes, and changes in the social structure, et, but nothing can be accurately said as there are no facts and figures relating to the Maya civilization from where its mystery can be solved. However, the popular belief is that the civilization came to end because of the war between different states of the Maya, overpopulation that causes environmental degradation, and the climatic change. But, the experts do not have any solid justifications and information to explain with the certainty the reason of the decline of the Maya civilization.
Many attempts have been made to explore the mystery since the discovery of the Maya civilization. The archaeologists are still trying to solve this mystery. All the educated relating to the Maya civilization and the remnants of this civilization can also be analyzed from the information provided by the history channel. The below link, however, provide the details of the civilization.
http://www.history.com/topics/maya
Further, in a podcast ‘Making Sense of the Maya’, Paul Lay has also explained the attempt of 19th century’s explorers from Europe for exploring the secrets of the Maya civilization, and solving this mystery.
http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2013/04/podcast-making-sense-maya
Bibliography
Atkinson, Austen. Lost Civilizations: Rediscovering Ancient Sites Through New Technology. (New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003).
Bley, Bonnie. The Ancient Maya and Their City of Tulum: Uncovering the Mysteries of an Ancient Civilization and Their City of Grandeur. (Bloomington: iUniverse, 2011).
Brown, M. Kathryn., and Travis W. Stanton. Ancient Mesoamerican Warfare. (California: Rownan & Littlefield Publishers, 2003).
Foster, Lynn V. Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)
Joseph, Frank. Advanced Civilizations of Prehistoric America: The Lost Kingdoms of the Adena, Hopewell, Mississippians, and Anasazi.(Rochester Vermont: Bear and Company, 2009)
Nations, James D. The Maya Tropical Forest: People, Parks, and Ancient Cities. (Texas: University of Texas Press, 2010)
Newitz, Annalee. “What really destroyed the Maya civilization?”. Kinja. February 24, 2012
http://io9.com/5886796/did-mild-weather-really-destroy-the-mayan-empire
Shapiro, Michael. “Maya Secrets”. National Geographic.
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/maya-secrets/#page=2
Sharer, Robert J. The Ancient Maya. (California: Stanford University Press, 2006)
