Transcript Mayan Collapse

The Maya in the
Late Classic and
Post Classic
Collapse and Survival
800 – 1492 AD
Lord Pacal
 Great king buried in the Temple of
Inscriptions at Palenque
 Burial covered by massive carved limestone
slab depicts Pacal descending to the
underworld…or was he really an ancient
astronaut ascending too space in a rocket?
 Not until invention of space flight in the
1960s was the sarcophagus carving of Pacal
ever seen as representing anything
inconsistent with other Mayan carvings and
cosmology.
 What do you see?
Post-Classic
 A series drought episodes occurred around
700 CE.
 This was followed by a drought lasting 100
years.
 Stress on already exhausted agricultural
fields, crowded cities, deforested urban
zones.
Did the Maya see the end coming or did environmental
distress catch them by surprise?
Collapse
 The fall of Mayan cities from great centers
of commerce and ritual with large
populations to complete abandonment
around 900 AD has mystified people for a
long time.
 However, the entire Mayan civilization did
not collapse.
 Abandonment of cities primarily occurred
in the southern lowlands and highlands of
Guatemala. Other regions of the Mayan
culture continue to thrive.
 Today the principal hypothesis for decline
is focused on environmental factors.
Environmental Stress
 The combined affects of prolonged drought,
crop failures, internal war, overpopulation
and civil unrest are seen as the likely cause
of disintegration of Mayan culture in the
southern regions and Guatemala.
 The period is marked by extensive
population movements north and west.
 Palynological studies (pollen analysis) from
cores in lakes and other sediment sources
indicate a drought period of 100 years and
limited crop production.
 Oxygen isotope studies confirm abrupt
climate changes
 Gylphs indicate increased inter-city conflict
and a dynamic change in the type of war,
from ritualized to resource based and total.
Oxygen isotope studies
reveal period of drought
that coincides with
Mayan decline.
Patterns
 Mayan civilization was never an empire.
Independent city-states shared culture, but
not centralized, singular political authority.
 Teotihuacan had risen to power and
remained strong for four centuries, only to
collapse for many of the same reasons as
the Maya.
 Toward late post-classic these remaining
centers fell under the political and cultural
influence of Toltec and later Aztec cultures.
Teotihuacan
 Superpower of Mexico 300 CE – 700 CE
Rise of Tula (legendary Tollan)
 Toltec poorly understood (most sites disturbed)
 900-1150 AD
 Origins in West Mexico
 Aztec legends associate Toltec with militarism.
 Urban population reaching at least 60,000 at the
capital.
 Too high in elevation
 Similarities to
to successfully
cultivate cacao or
cotton.
 Layout similar to
Teotihuacan in
miniature.
 Like Teotihuacán tula
had Pyramids of moon
and sun.
Chichen- itza temple
of warriors with
colonnade.
 Representation of
Quetzalcoatl; as Venus
god. Kukulcan.
 Introduce Coantpantli
to architecture.
Chocmool of Toltec style.
Quetzalcoatl like this were featured on Tula temples.
Tula. Temple with Atlantian figures. Small scale talud
tablero style.
Tula pyramid. Hidalgo.
Digital reconstruction of Tula
by Antonio Serrato-Combe
Completely destroyed by
1156 AD.
Site plan of
Chichen itza
Temple of the
Warriors.
Here the
Toltec
influence is
strong in
during late
Post-classic.
View from Temple of Warriors toward horizon. El Castillo visible.
Notes on the Toltec
 Militaristic.
 Art exhibits formal, rigid style.
 Master craftsmen and artisans.
 Long distance trade networks maintained by
military alliances. Sea traders.
 Early metal workers--crafting objects in
bronze.
 Much admired by the Aztec.
 Demise of major centers has overshadowed
the reality that many Mayan centers
continued in other regions and prospered.
 Mayan people are not a “lost civilization,”
but represent a civilization in decline and
under foreign rule.
 7,500,000 Maya alive today in Mexico and
Guatemala
 Mayan cities continue until arrival of the
Spanish but with very different institutions
and customs resulting from thee centuries of
Toltec/Aztec influence.
 Final stronghold falls to conquistadores in
1530.
Most significant changes
 Innovation of the spindle whorl
 Molcajete (tripod grinding bowl) similar to
Teotihuacán style.
 Expansionism northward through conquest.
 By 1300 the Toltec had splintered into small
groups and abandoned most northern sites.
Neighboring regions
 Michoacan, Toluca, Morelos
 Chollua, Valley of Puebla
 Tribute “states” within these sectors
provided raw goods and luxury items
 Alliances through marriage and trade.
 Trade may have reached north further than
ever. (Some suspect it reached American
Southwest).
Religious traditions
 Gods included: Kukulcan, as a version of
Quetzalcoatl (Mayan)
 Rival god: Tezcatlipoca (god of night and
north)
 Chichen, Uxmal and other cities of the
northern lowlands, extending to Yucatan,
expanded and thrived in the centuries
following “the collapse.”
 By 900 the Itza culture moved into Chichen
and Puuc culture extended into southern
Yucatan.