The Mayans have lived in Central America and the Yucatán Peninsula since at least 1800 BC and thrived in the region for thousands of years. The Mayan civilization collapsed between 800 - 1000 AD. The cause of their collapse is still being studied by researchers.
"Before we go any further, it's important to understand that the Maya still existed today. It was the Maya political system that collapsed, not the society," said Lisa Lucero, professor of anthropology and medieval studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"There are more than 7 million Mayan people living today in Central America and beyond to prove this fact," he continued as quoted from Live Science.
The ancient Mayan civilization did not have a single central leader like an emperor in ancient Rome for example, and did not unite into a single state. In contrast, the ancient Mayan civilization consisted of many small countries each centered around a city.
These countries have similarities in culture and religion, and have their own local leaders. Hence, there is no single downfall for this government.
On the other hand, a number of cities of the Maya civilization experienced their ups and downs at different times, some in the 800 to 1000 AD time period, some later.
For example, when Chichén Itzá suffered a setback largely due to a long drought during the 11th century, another Yucatán Peninsula city, called Mayapán, began to flourish.
"The word 'collapse' does not seem to be a universally applicable term for the entire Maya, nor should it be referred to as a single term. The Maya area was vast, with many governments and environments, and many languages were spoken within the Maya," said Marilyn Masson, a professor and chair of anthropology at the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Researchers say the Maya states still existed even after the region was ravaged by war and disease brought on by the European conquest of Central America.
"We must always remember that the last Maya state, Nojpetén, fell in 1697, which is fairly recent," said Guy Middleton, a visiting researcher at the School of History, Classics and Archeology at Newcastle University in England.
Why did they fall?
The researchers said various political and environmental problems were the cause of the decline of Maya cities. Based on analysis of speleothems or rock structures in caves such as stalactites and stalagmites, several severe droughts struck between AD 800 and 930 in the southern Mesoamerican region.
"And because the most powerful Mayan kings relied on urban reservoirs during the annual dry season for access to clean drinking water, decreased rainfall depleted water reserves, crops failed, and kings lost their resources. What's more, decreased rainfall exacerbated the problem. kings," said Lucero.
In addition, the fact that the Mayan rulers often associated their own power with gods, created more political problems. The Mayan crisis caused by drought caused people to lose faith in their rulers.
The drought, combined with political turmoil, ultimately disrupted agriculture, the maintenance of water storage systems and resulted in the Mayan rulers wasting resources on war.
Lucero noted that some areas of the Maya are experiencing deforestation, and lower water levels make it difficult to trade in goods. "Less rainfall is likely to have an impact on the canoe trade as water levels drop markedly each dry season, resulting in fewer canoe trips," says Lucero.
The Maya in the modern era
After the last Mayan state was conquered by Spain in 1697, the Mayan people still existed, and they had to face discrimination. Sometimes they rebelled against Spain and the government that came to power after Spanish colonial rule ended in 1821.
Despite periodically revolting, they were not successful. The remaining Mayans still lack adequate political representation in the countries where they live.
"It's important to get the message out there that although the classical era Maya cities and states really did collapse and culture did change, the Maya did not disappear at all," Middleton said.
"We have to pay attention to its history, each state, and the current status of the Mayan population in Mesoamerica," he concluded.
