What Happened to the Mayan Civilization The Mistery of A Great Essay

What Happened to the Mayan Civilization The Mistery of A Great Civilization - Essay Example The most famous theories of the collapse of the Mayan civilization are as under however there is no consensus of opinion among the researchers: 1. The Disaster Theory: The researchers of Maya civilization believed that there was surely a catastrophic event which doomed the Mayans. The event may be an earthquake, an epidemic disease, flood or the volcanic eruption. Such a disastrous event can be the only explanation behind the immediate downfall of civilizations. It is reasonable that a large number of people can be killed or displaced only if a sudden hazard takes place. It can at once kill people and destroy cities. The theory is widely celebrated for the reason of the fall of the Mayan civilization (Thompson, p96). The theory matches with religious explanations of the causes of the falls of the nations. This theory as regards the Mayan civilization was however rejected because the history shows that Mayan civilization took about 200 years for its downfall; it was not sudden. Some o f the cities declined while many flourished for quite a reasonable part of the time. Had there been an earthquake, flood, disease or volcanic eruption, each and everything would have simultaneously been removed of the surface of the earth. As this was not the situation, the theory was rejected by a large faction of researchers. 2. The Warfare Theory: The Mayans were a peaceful civilization. But their later history reveals that they were a warring people always busy in wars among in between and against others. Their historical record tells of the fact that they always discovered newer methods of warfare. The stone-carvings deciphered recently openly tell that Mayans fought frequently among themselves. Cities went to battles quite often worth mentioning of which are Tikal, Copan and Dos Pilas. In 760 A.D, Dos Piloas was destroyed after ruthless invasion. The theory is quite an interesting and reasonable explanation of the causes of the downfall of the Mayan civilization. History has a lways told that mutual war-fares and misunderstandings have caused the nations to drown in the seas of obscurity. The researchers have only one query here; whether they fought enough to bring their downfall? This is quite reasonable that war brings with it human sufferings, financial crisis and collateral damage. They warred with each other and the cities of the Mayan civilization caught the fire of distrust and discontent sufficient enough to disbelieve them their culture (Miller, p18). 3. The Famine Theory: In the periods of history between 1000 B.C. and 300 A.D, the basic occupation of the Mayans remained the Agriculture. They practiced in it and earned their livelihood. Agriculture was so largely practiced that even small family-plots were not left uncultivated. Corns, beans and squash were their main plantations. On seas and riversides as well as in lakes, they carried out fishing for their food needs. With their advancement in many fields, the cities grew and their population increased. Their progress attracted people from other civilizations as well. They came and penetrated them. A moment came when their population grew to the extent their resources could not bear any more. The local production was far less than their required limits. They were however an advanced civilization and learnt to upgrade their resources. They improved their agricultural procedures and equipments. They improved their trade. However the penetration of the outsiders and the increase in local population were the issues which