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What Caused The Mayans To Abandon All Of Their Major Cities?
A societal shift long before the Spanish arrived
In the 9th century, something strange happened to the Classical Mayan civilization. Many of the Mayans’ greatest cities were abandoned, and their traditional homelands were emptied of people. Great monuments ceased being built, and historical markers vanished from the archeological records. This is known as the Terminal Classic or the Classic Maya Collapse. Over a century, Mayan civilization drastically changed, and no one really knows why. There have been over 80 theories floated as to why the Mayans abandoned their coastal cities and their lowland settlements but the exact cause remains one of the greatest mysteries in archeology.
Some of the Mayans’ most prominent cities shrank away to almost nothing. The prominent cities included Palenque, Copán, Tikal, and Calakmul. Tikal was a staple of Mayan society for centuries up until this point. Tikal was a powerful city state that warred with its neighbors and oversaw the construction of over two dozen large temples and pyramids. But after 900, the city was abandoned. It is stark scenes like this that cause archeologists and historians so much consternation. Why would the Mayans abandon such a large city? How did a regional superpower like Tikal collapse so quickly?
