How Did the Mayan Kingdom Fall

Unless you have seen the Mayan ruins in person, such as I have, you can not truly bask in the brilliance that these people once had. Their artifacts that have been collected are truly breath taking and the Mayan builders built like no other.

In December of 2012, it was predicted that the world would end, because of the Mayan calendar, but as explained by the Mayan tour guides it was just simple the calendar ended. Their civilization was doomed.

The Maya are an indigenous people of Mexico and Central America who have continuously inhabited the lands comprising modern-day Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas in Mexico and southward through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. (ancient encyclopedia.

The Mayan Empire, reached the peak of it's very best power in the 6th century AD. It was centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala. The Mayan culture excelled at agriculture, beautiful pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork. Most of the great stone cities of the Maya were abandoned by A.D. 900, however, and since the 19th century scholars have debated what might have caused this dramatic decline.

In 800 A.D., the Maya Empire consisted of many powerful city and states spreading from southern Mexico to northern Honduras. These cities were home over whelming populations and were ruled by only the top elite, who could command great armies and claimed to be descended from the stars and planets themselves (this was a horrible claim to fame though). At this time Mayan culture was at its highest peak: Large temples were built perfectly with precision aligned with the night sky. Many stone artifacts were made to celebrate the accomplishments of their great leaders and distant trading, but a hundred years later, the cities were in ruins, abandoned and left to the jungle to reclaim.

Disaster Theory

Early Maya researchers believed that some catastrophic event may have doomed Maya. An earthquake, volcanic eruption or sudden epidemic disease could have destroyed cities and killed or displaced tens of thousands of people, bringing the Maya civilization crashing down.

The Warfare Theory

The Mayans were thought to be a peaceful group of people, but new artifacts prove that this was not the case. Many stone carvings represent Maya to frequently war. Killing each other until there was no longer but a handful of their existence spread out.

The Famine Theory

The Mayan people were great farmers. Their knowledge of planting corn, beans and squash was phenomenal. It was enough to keep their neighbors from starving, but the talk of changing climate eventually tore apart their food source and they starved to death.

So…What Happened to the Ancient Maya?:

Experts in the field simply do not have enough solid information to state with clear-cut certainty how the Maya civilization ended. The downfall of the ancient Maya was likely caused by some combination of the factors above. The question seems to be which factors were most important and if they were linked somehow. For example, did a famine lead to starvation, which in turn led to civil strife and warring upon neighbors? (Ask.com)

When I arrived in Chichinitza Cancun and walked the path to this great building, I was simply amazed at the craftsmanship of this beautiful building made by hand. Even though they do not let people walk to the top, it was truly an amazing journey for me that I will never forget.

On mostly every stone there was hieroglyphics that were left to tell their story. Today it is the only way that archeologist can put this story in to words. Were there really fire breathing dragons or wicked witches. One will never really know. Only assumptions of what these hieroglyphics mean.

Each of these buildings are in good condition but because they were abandoned they were named the Mayan Ruins. Chichinitza is a beautiful part of Cancun Mexico. The beauty of the foliage, flowers and carved out of stone statues.

No matter which speculation is true, the beauty of their life still remains. These people worked hard to make the perfect home for themselves, for it to be taken away by some misfortune. Whether it was war, famine, or a natural disaster, these people were taken over by some force that caused them to leave or die in their own homes.