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Member Since: 11/2005

Maya May Have Caused Civilization-Ending Climate Change

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In most cases, Maya cities encircled the bajos, so archaeologists thought the culture made no use of them. But groundbreaking satellite images show that the bajos harbor ancient drainage canals and long-overgrown fields.

That ingenious method of agriculture may have backfired.

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8.7
{"commentId":1527116,"authorDomain":"marilynl"}

Wow, NASA's one archeologist ties satellite imagery into better understanding of how localized climate change brought on by drainage canals and slash and burn agriculture may have caused the fall of the Mayan civilization.

One thing this brings to mind is that climate change is happening all the time. What else is desertification? It's obvious that we have an effect on our environment and have not added that effect into calculations about our civilizations' goals and aspirations.

{"commentId":1527116,"threadId":"227616","contentId":"1336642","authorDomain":"marilynl"}
  • 4 votes
Reply#1 - Sat Mar 1, 2008 9:50 AM EST
{"commentId":1527150,"authorDomain":"kylen"}

There was another theory for the same time period and result Ivan seeded here: Drought And The Maya Collapse

The short of it was a solar minimum led to drought conditions.

{"commentId":1527150,"threadId":"227616","contentId":"1336642","authorDomain":"kylen"}
  • 2 votes
Reply#2 - Sat Mar 1, 2008 10:11 AM EST
{"commentId":1527822,"authorDomain":"marilynl"}

That's what I like about science. It's open to investigating differing theories, until the one is accepted (or a new one knocks them both out of the running).

{"commentId":1527822,"threadId":"227616","contentId":"1336642","authorDomain":"marilynl"}
  • 4 votes
#2.1 - Sat Mar 1, 2008 1:45 PM EST
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