Stone carving of Venus symbol from Chich
Stone carving of Venus symbol from Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico. Maya hieroglyphs tell the political history of the ancient civilization. Information from the UC Davis Maya Hieroglyphic Database Project, combined with precise climate records of the time, led an international team of researchers to conclude that extreme weather played a significant role in the downfall of the Maya. Credit: Martha Macri/UC Davis
The Maya calendar stopped forever because of long, catastrophic drought, according to a new study on the collapse of the Mesoamerican civilization.
Carried by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, the study combined a precise climatic record of the Maya environment with a precise record of Maya political history to shed light on the rapid decline of this ancient civilization.
Indeed, the collapse of the Maya between 800 and 1000 AD is one of the world’s most enduring mysteries.
“Here you had an amazing state-level society that had created calendars, magnificent architecture, works of art, and was engaged in trade throughout Central America,” said University of California, Davis, anthropology professor and co-author Bruce Winterhalder.
They were incredible craftspersons, proficient in agriculture, statesmanship and warfare — and within about 80 years, it fell completely apart
“They were incredible craftspersons, proficient in agriculture, statesmanship and warfare — and within about 80 years, it fell completely apart ,” he said.
To determine what was happening in the sociopolitical realm during each of those years, the study tapped the extensive Maya Hieroglyphic Database Project, run by linguist Martha Macri, a professor of Native American studies and director of the Native American Language Center at UC Davis.
A specialist in Maya hieroglyphs, Macri has been tracking the culture’s stone monuments for nearly 30 years.
“Every one of these Maya monuments is political history,” she said.
Inscribed on each monument is the date it was erected and dates of significant events, such as a ruler’s birthday or accession to power, as well as dates of some deaths, burials and major battles. The researchers noted that the number of monuments carved decreased in the years leading to the collapse.
But the monuments made no mention of ecological events, such as storms, drought or references to crop successes or failures.
For that information, the researchrts collected a stalagmite from a cave in Belize, less than 1 mile from the Maya site of Uxbenka and about 18 miles from three other important centers.
Using oxygen isotope dating in 0.1 millimeter increments along the length of the stalagmite, the scientists uncovered a physical record of rainfall over the past 2,000 years.
Combined, the stalagmite and hieroglyphs allowed the researchers to link precipitation to politics.
Periods of high and increasing rainfall coincided with a rise in population and political centers between A.D. 300 and 660. A climate reversal and drying trend between A.D. 660 and 1000 triggered political competition, increased warfare, overall sociopolitical instability, and finally, political collapse.
This was followed by an extended drought between A.D. 1020 and 1100 that likely corresponded with crop failures, death, famine, migration and, ultimately, the collapse of the Maya population.
“It’s a cautionary tale about how fragile our political structure might be. Are we in danger the same way the Classic Maya were in danger? I don’t know. But I suspect that just before their rapid descent and disappearance, Maya political elites were quite confident about their achievements,” Winterhalder said.
According to Macri, the study confirms that “weather events can cause a lot of political unrest and subject societies to disease and invasion.”
“Now it’s clear. There is physical evidence that correlates right along with it. We are dependent on climatological events that are beyond our control,” Winterhalder said.
Source: D. J. Kennett, S. F. M. Breitenbach, V. V. Aquino, Y. Asmerom, J. Awe, J. U. L. Baldini, P. Bartlein, B. J. Culleton, C. Ebert, C. Jazwa, M. J. Macri, N. Marwan, V. Polyak, K. M. Prufer, H. E. Ridley, H. Sodemann, B. Winterhalder, G. H. Haug. Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change. Science, 2012; 338 (6108): 788 DOI: 10.1126/science.1226299