The Last Ancient Cities of Mayan Civilization
The Twilight of the Ancient Mayans
The greatest mistake that historians have made is to simplify history into a straightforward and one-sided narrative. The classic trope of a great civilization that rose, and then fell in one fell swoop is common across many places. Aside from the Romans and their poor “Byzantine” successors, the greatest victims of this ignorant narrative are the Mayans. The classic tale of the Mayans is their quick rise to glory, then sudden collapse in an apocalyptic setting before the unrelated Aztecs rose a few centuries later. The convenient collapse of the Mayans has commonly been used as an example or justification for different ideas and arguments such as climate change and overpopulation despite the flaws in the narrative. The most pressing hole is the obvious Mayan cities that sprung up after the Classical Mayan Period, and the advanced developments they made after their supposed collapse. As a result, the Mayan story will serve as an example one last time; but this time to serve the accuracy of history.
Fall of the Classical Mayans and Misconceptions
Labelling a “fall” for civilizations is always a tricky ordeal. However, in the case of the Mayans, there are obvious signs that their civilization degraded into obscurity. Several…
