The Fall Of The Ancient Maya - 992 Words

The Moral of the Story is Something We Don’t Know Webster’s investigation into the Mayan Collapse in his book The Fall of the Ancient Maya is quite lengthy for the number of conclusions he makes. In fact, he spends his last chapter of the book explaining that, as much as we may want it, there is no clear cut answer currently for why the Mayan civilization fell. He shares his ideas concerning Mayan overpopulation, warfare, competition between nobles, and an ideological decline but does not claim to be infallible in his assertions, and instead insists that we as readers should make up our own mind about what happened to the Mayans. As such, I prefer the migration hypothesis of the Mayan collapse, which hypothesizes that the Mayan population rotated around Mayan territory, shifting their residence based on the availability of resources, perceived competency of leadership, and the threat of conflict, until they finally exhausted all available space to them and were left with no place to go. This theory of collapse incorporates m uch of what Webster claims to be central to the Mayan collapse while also providing a very logical story as to how it occurred, but without further evidence, cannot be proven. Regardless, this sort of exploration into the Mayans has widened the lens with which societal collapse is inspected. Webster’s wealth of research into the Mayans brought factors that had previously been overlooked in other societal collapses, namely his ideas of an ideologicalShow MoreRelatedAncient Maya Essay868 Words   |  4 PagesAncient Maya Essay Matthew Pitcher Mrs Meligrana Ancient Civilizations June 8th, 2011 Pitcher1 The Ancient Mayan civilization stands out from other ancient civilizations and is great because of its outstanding achievements and developments. The Mayans are still known to this day for their exceptional architecture, medical discoveries, astronomy, and military tactics which were very successful. In this essay I will explain what the Mayans have achieved to make themselvesRead MoreThe Aztecs And The Incas1135 Words   |  5 Pagesof other stars! This is what the Aztecs and the Mayas saw every night. Both the Aztec and the Maya were a powerful and advanced civilization that were created separately from the Western European civilizations and did an amazing job doing so. 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In that ancient India human started to worshipRead MoreThe Ancient Civilization1622 Words   |  7 PagesThe intrigue of The Mayans has always existed through the telling of their ritualistic practices or their calendar, but the fall of such an advanced civilization is perhaps the most intriguing story of all.To understand what causes great civilizations, it is vital to note the process of collapse in other civilizations, such as the great Roman Empire. Differences in time period, geographical landscapes, and other circumstances mean no direct correlations are possible, but the outstanding point ofRead MoreEnd of Mayan Civilization1143 Words   |  5 PagesMayan collapse, the article on The Rise and fall of the Maya Empire-History.com, offers a three- pronged theory combining both environmental and social fa ctors that is very solid in a theoretical viewpoint. First, similar to Henry M. 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