Decline+of+the+Mayan+Empire+Research+Notes

Topics:  1. Climate and Geographic Factors 2. Events and Leaders 3. Transportation and Weaponry 4. Agriculture and the Economy 5. Energy 6. Plagues and Diseases 


 * 1. Climate and Geographic Factors **


 * Located in Southern Mexico, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala
 * Fluctuating temperatures (anywhere between 0 °C and 50 °C, although temperatures in summer were most likely warmer)
 * Mayan civilization spread over large area, so many different types of terrain (plateaus, mountains, highlands, lowlands, coastal regions…)
 * Lowlands very susceptible to hurricanes and tropical storms
 * Soil in Southern Mexico not very fertile, made agriculture difficult
 * Mosquitoes thrive in tropical areas, could have also helped spread diseases such as malaria (see plagues and diseases)
 * Drought
 * Scientists examined pollen in the area and it almost disappeared 1200 years ago, indicating a drought*
 * Would have resulted in more erosion, carries away topsoil resulting in an inability to grow food, therefore the population would have starved

 Sources:

Welker, Glenn. “Mayan Civilization”. September 9 1998. <[]> Markowitz, Matthew. “The Mayans, Climate Change, and Conflict”. ICE Case Studies. July 2003. <[]> Beale, Bob. “Fall of Mayan cities blamed on long dry spell”. ABC Science Online. March 14th 2003. <[]>
 * Barry, Patrick L. “The Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire”. Science @ NASA. November 15th 2004. <[]>


 * 2. Events and Leaders **


 * Evidence of endemic warfare
 * Could have resulted from food/water shortages
 * Remains of child found unburied in throne room, highly unusual for Mayan culture
 * More war imagery found on later monuments (estimated around 700 – 900 AD), charred remains, scorched walls
 * Middle/lower classes starved but still had to work (drought/food shortage)
 * Evidence that the upper class (nobles, rulers…) population was growing, demanding more from lower class
 * Alliance between Teotihuacán and Tikal ended in rivalry, lasted for over 130 years, warfare could have resulted in using resources faster contributing to downfall
 * Fighting between Dos Pilas (small city, relied on warfare to survive) and Calakmul (shared resources with Tikal) and Tikal
 * Dos Pilas and Calakmul versus Tikal
 * Calakmul collapsed in late 600’s
 * Dos Pilas and several small cities continue attacking Tikal
 * Cortes arrived in 1519, many conflicts with Mayans in what is now Yucatan
 * 1526 Spanish explorer Francisco Montejo arrived to conquer the Maya (shortly after Aztecs were conquered)
 * 20 years fighting, Mayans eventually lost

 Sources:

Gugliotta, Guy. “The Maya: Glory and Ruin”. National Geographic. August 2007. <[]> Unknown Author. “Maya Warfare”. Authentic Maya. April 4th 2009. <[]> Conrad, David. “The Ancient Maya - A Commercial Empire”. Mexconnect. January 1 2006. <[]>


 * 3. Transportation and Weaponry **

**
 * <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">A. <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; color: rgb(247, 151, 29);"> Transportation
 * Did not use animals for transportation, walked almost everywhere
 * Tumpline (backpack with strap across forehead/ chest)
 * No wheeled vehicles
 * Rivers most needed form of transportation
 * Allowed commerce through different villages
 * Used dug-out canoes
 * Battles between tribes fought for control of river, therefore the trade


 * <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">B. <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 159, 0);">Weaponry **<span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">


 * Bow and arrow for long range warfare
 * Knife
 * Spear
 * Club
 * Shields
 * Sickle (used also in agriculture)
 * Cotton vests stuffed with salt rocks
 * Weapons made of flint or other rocks: no metal
 * Relatively simple warfare between city-states (Endemic warfare)
 * Goal of warfare to capture sacrifices
 * No army, just called on civilian men if needed
 * Common practice in Mayan warfare if city was invaded, invaders would dump bodies in the cities water supply poisoning the water
 * Mayans timed their warfare and big attacks in accordance to star movements (mostly in accordance with Venus)
 * Some cities relied heavily on warfare to function (Dos Pilas)
 * Battle tactics are unknown, although some evidence suggests that some troops were like shock troops and killed anyone in their path

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"> Sources:

Gugliotta, Guy. “The Maya: Glory and Ruin”. National Geographic. August 2007. < []  > Unknown Author. “Mayan Weapons & Warfare”. Thinkquest. < []  > Unknown Author. “Maya Warfare”. Authentic Maya. April 4th 2009. < []  > Unknown Author. “Mayan Geography”. Lost Civilizations. < []>


 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">4. <span style="color: rgb(9, 174, 62); font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Agriculture and the Economy **


 * Agriculture foundation of culture and economy
 * Heavily relied on “slash and burn” technique for growing food (surrounded by rainforests)
 * At first soil would be rich in nitrogen and minerals, increased pH level
 * Soil would lose nutrients, topsoil becomes less dense
 * Lead to erosion, washing soil in to streams/ lakes, polluting them
 * Cultivated maize, squash, beans
 * Chocolate big part of Mayan food- seen as energy source and the food of the gods
 * Rabbits, deer, and turkeys hunted, some also domesticated
 * Fishing also big aspect of Mayan diet
 * Crops cultivated by peasants or slaves, had to give 2/3 of produce to nobles
 * Relied on rainfall in lowlands, made reservoirs, canals, networks of water systems
 * Aqueducts built like Romans
 * Built at ground level to bring water to city
 * Shaped like a “U”, made of rock, generally small (a foot wide, a foot deep)
 * Used wet soil from bottom of swamps as fertilizer
 * Alternated crops to help fertilize and maximize soil usage
 * Managed to feed millions of people with little soil

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"> Sources:

Barry, Patrick L. “The Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire”. Science @ NASA. November 15th 2004. <[]> Beale, Bob. “Fall of Mayan cities blamed on long dry spell”. ABC Science Online. March 14th 2003. <[]> Falsetto, Sharon. “Mayan Warfare and Farming: The Impact of War on Maya Crops”. December 22nd 2008. <[]> Gugliotta, Guy. “The Maya: Glory and Ruin”. National Geographic. August 2007. <[]> Unknown Author. “Maya Agriculture”. Authentic Maya. April 4th 2009. <[]> Demarest, Arthur Andrew. “The Ancient Maya”. Pages 131- 133. 2004.


 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">5. <span style="color: rgb(27, 101, 248); font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">Energy **


 * Man power
 * Carried everthing (no wheel)
 * Farmers laboured in fields
 * Architecture (no pulleys)
 * Water
 * Used river (canoes transported goods between cities)
 * Used gravity sometimes to transport water to water crops

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"> Sources:

Conrad, David. “The Ancient Maya - A Commercial Empire”. Mexconnect. January 1 2006. <[]> Gugliotta, Guy. “The Maya: Glory and Ruin”. National Geographic. August 2007. <[]>


 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;">6. <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; color: rgb(245, 0, 0);">Plagues and Diseases **<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif; color: rgb(245, 0, 0);">


 * Parasites very common in tropical regions
 * Acute diarrheal illnesses thought to be most destructive to Mayans
 * Used plants as medicine
 * Focused on curing body and spirit (ch’ulel, or life force)
 * Mayans had very high population density
 * Archeologists found that cities were being expanded, although construction stopped abruptly
 * Possibly exceeded carrying capacity of land
 * 2,000 people per square mile in the cities (900 AD)
 * 500 people per square mile in rural areas (900 AD)
 * Europeans arrived, infected Mayans with foreign diseases
 * Measles, Smallpox, Syphilis, Yellow Fever

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif;"> Sources:

Gugliotta, Guy. “The Maya: Glory and Ruin”. National Geographic. August 2007. <[]> Unknown Author. “Mayan History”. Crystalinks. <[]> Unknown Author. “Tropical Diseases”. <[]> Conrad, David. “The Ancient Maya - A Commercial Empire”. Mexconnect. January 1 2006. <[]> Fedyniak, Lev G, MD. “Medicine of the Ancient Maya”. Vitality. February 2007. <[]>

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