Very random, but what is your take on what happened to the mayans?

Question

i cant believe that they just disappeared...but i know alot of people have different theories.

Answer 1

First off the Mayans did not disappear so you are correct there. Their civilization collapsed but the people are still there. Romans still exist for example, or at least their descendants, but the civilization is gone. The Mayans had their waxing and waning like any other civilization, but like the Minoan culture say, perhaps a form of natural disaster coupled with the "normal" stresses of warfare and disease may have struck a blow that dismantled the civilization, leaving the people behind, a dramatic ending like the eruption on Thera. It may be less dramatic but more likely that over population led to excessive agricultural activity which can lead to severe ecological swings. Look at the Sahara and the result the shifting of watersheds had on an area once green, mainly caused by overgrazing and deforestation. It may well be that the Maya may be guilty of the same and the changing ecology simply forced them to move away and abandon their cities. Can't live in a large urban setting without food and water so simple need may be the culprit for the end of a promising civilization.

Answer 2

I believe it was a gradual collapse with both environmental and human triggers. The Mayans were in a way too successful. Overpopulation, particularly the urban populations, lead to over farming that drained the soil of nutrients. Remember that rain forest soil is generally poor in nutrients (all of the lushness is found in the canopies of the trees) and that soil was supplemented with nutrient rich silt from pools and swamps. A series of droughts exacerbated the problem and lead to famines and wars over resources. These crop failures and civil wars lead to a big population die off and the abandonment of the cities.

It is important to remember that the Maya went through several periods of Renaissance and collapse, and that their direct ancestors still live in the jungles of Southern Mexico and Guatemala. They have never entirely disappeared.

Answer 3

It's a mystery, and heavily disputed.
Overpopulation, peasant revolt, foreign invasion, environmental disaster, climate change, collapse of key trade routes, epidemic disease, drought, exhaustion of agricultural potential........

Answer 4

They still exist as pure bloods in Yucatan.