The Mystery of the Maya Collapse: Droughts, Wars, and an Uncertain Future
The Maya civilization reached its peak among imposing temples and cities that seemed eternal. However, between the 8th and 11th centuries AD, that world began to crumble. Studies show that the collapse was not caused by a single factor, but rather the result of multiple crises hitting at the same time.
Megadroughts and environmental fragility
Research confirms that between 800 and 1100 AD, an unprecedented megadrought occurred in more than two millennia. Cities like Tikal, Copán, or Calakmul were suffocated by the lack of water, reducing agricultural production and triggering famines. However, the climate did not act alone. Soils, deprived of their moisture retention capacity, became arid and unproductive, trapping millions of people in a cycle of scarcity.
Wars and the collapse of power
As hunger spread, tensions between city-states turned into ruthless wars. Cancuén witnessed a massacre around 800 AD, where the elite was assassinated and thrown into mass graves still adorned with jade. Steles and murals depict rulers displaying war prisoners, symbols of an escalation of violence that weakened trade networks and shattered the kings’ legitimacy. The nobility, once mediators between the gods and the people, lost their sacred aura when they could no longer guarantee survival.
The abandonment of cities
In sites like Copán, were left unfinished buildings and half-painted murals, signs of a sudden abandonment. The estimated demographic growth of over 16 million inhabitants would have exceeded agricultural and resource capacity, accelerating a social collapse. Temples stopped being built, trade routes were interrupted, and cultural splendor faded away gradually.
A still open mystery
Although the drought theory holds significant weight, wars, changes in trade routes, and climatic catastrophes acted as pieces of the same puzzle. Today, centuries later, the question of how such an advanced civilization could succumb remains without a definitive answer.
