Anonymous
By Shelly Leachman, UCSB
An extended period of turmoil in the prehistoric Maya city of Mayapan, in the Yucatan region of Mexico, was marked by population declines, political rivalries and civil conflict. Between 1441 and 1461 CE the strife reached an unfortunate crescendo — the complete institutional collapse and abandonment of the city. This all occurred during a protracted drought.
Coincidence? Not likely, finds new research by anthropologist and professor Douglas Kennett of UC Santa Barbara.
Writing in the journal Nature Communications, lead author Kennett and collaborators in the fields of archaeology, history, geography and earth science suggest that drought may in fact have stoked the civil conflict that begat violence, which in turn led to the institutional instabilities that precipitated Mayapan’s collapse. This transdisciplinary work, the researchers said, “highlights the importance of understanding the complex relationships between natural and social systems, especially when evaluating the role of climate change in exacerbating internal political tensions and factionalism in areas where drought leads to food insecurity.”
“We found complex relationships between climate change and societal stability/instability on the regional level,” Kennett said in an interview. “Drought-induced civil conflict had a devastating local impact on the integrity of Mayapan’s state institutions that were designed to keep social order. However, the fragmentation of populations at Mayapan resulted in population and societal reorganization that was highly resilient for a hundred years until the Spanish arrived on the shores of the Yucatan.”
Douglas J. Kennet
The researchers examined archaeological and historical data from Mayapan, including isotope records, radiocarbon data and DNA sequences from human remains, to document in particular an interval of unrest between 1400 and 1450 CE. They then used regional sources of climatic data and combined it with a newer, local record of drought from cave deposits beneath the city, Kennett explained.
“Existing factional tensions that developed between rival groups were a key societal vulnerability in the context of extended droughts during this interval,” Kennett said. “Pain, suffering and death resulted from institutional instabilities at Mayapan and the population fragmented and moved back to their homelands elsewhere in the region.”
The vulnerabilities revealed in the data, the researchers found, were rooted in Maya reliance on rain-fed maize agriculture, a lack of centralized, long-term grain storage, minimal investments in irrigation and a sociopolitical system led by elite families with competing political interests.
Indeed the authors argue that “long-term, climate-caused hardships provoked restive tensions that were fanned by political actors whose actions ultimately culminated in political violence more than once at Mayapan.”
Yet significantly, a network of small Maya states also proved to be resilient after the collapse at Mayapan, in part by migrating across the region to towns that were still thriving. Despite decentralization, trade impacts, political upheaval and other challenges, the paper notes, they adapted and persisted into the early 16th century. It all points to the complexity of human responses drought on the Yucatan Peninsula at that time — an important consideration for the future as well as the past.
“Our study demonstrates that the convergence of information from multiple scientific disciplines helps us explore big and highly relevant questions,” Kennett said, “like the potential impact of climate change on society and other questions with enormous social implications.
“Climate change worries me, particularly here in the western U.S., but it is really the complexities of societal change in response to climatic perturbations that worry me the most,” he added. “The archaeological and historical records provide lessons from the past, and we also have so much more information about our Earth’s climate and the potential vulnerabilities in our own sociopolitical systems.”
If only the Mayans had been so forward thinking as the city of Santa Barbara. They thought they could save their civilization from destruction by making sacrifices to the gods and they never realized that all they had to do all along was build solar panels and windmills were n order to reduce their CO2 emissions. Perhaps solar and wind will one day be regarded as our modern version of making sacrifices to the gods.
With enough ignorant fools in the world who denigrate AGW, we will have no future.
3:33, who was emitting CO2 leading up to the 1400s to cause the AGW that brought down the Mayans?
That was not AGW, and you know it. That was destruction of the local environment by the Maya farming practices coupled with an actual natural drought cycle over decades, not the massive CO2 emission currently causing extremely rapid changes.
If nature inflicted a drought more severe than anything in living memory centuries ago without human intervention, could such an event occur again naturally? How does one distinguish between natural cycles and human caused climate change?
The rate of the change and the rapid acceleration of that rate in modern times are key factors, matched to the rate of CO2 emissions. But, you have been told that many times, and choose to ignore it. The Maya-era changes were not more severe than previous cycles, with the most serious episodes predating their civilization. But, you should have known that, too. Since your goal is politically-motivated FUD, you conveniently ignore facts that don’t conform to your view.
Recently unearthed and deciphered grafitti from Maya sites also suggests that a major contributor to their culture’s decline and demise was an aggressively bigoted element of their population that wanted to “Make the Maya Great Again.”
Dear Chip, “When you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It’s only painful & difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid.” – Rick Gervais
When the cause of the day is making the rich richer at the expense of the poor in the name of saving the world from destruction by CO2 of all things, I think a healthy level of skepticism is in order. Some of the greatest scientists in history were subjected to scorn and ridicule for questioning “consensus”, and some never lived to see their theories proven correct. I say what I think, and I’m happy to take criticism for it. However, the tables may turn sooner than you think. Depending on what the weather does in the next 10-20 years, global warming and its believers may find themselves on the wrong side of history. Perhaps betting the movement on a temperature increase was ill advised, it’s only a 50-50 chance of winning.
There’s a difference between skepticism and ignoring facts. Willful ignorance is worse than abject stupidity. Which are you?
The planet does. That’s why it is trying to kill us off.
@ a-1658793095 ….yes, lol
Climate change is proof of an ever changing and regenerating planet.
We used to be able to ski and I say that jokingly, at Mt. Figueroa in the early 80’s.
I used to ski in the Sierras but 30 years ago realized that the winter and snow pack were in Utah, which is about one lateral line above us.
Now I have property in Joseph Oregon and that is in NE Oregon up next to Idaho and Washington state and they had an El Nino spring for 6 weeks in April -May like used to happen here.
I’m not leaving yet but damn, it is a water thing.
All I have to say is the climate, the animal life,(talking to you plover and Monarch Butterfly savers) they are all moving north.
In the words of prophet Sam Kinesin “Move to where the water is” has been my motto for 40 years..
Sorry SB you better learn to split the salt off water or you are F’D.
Imagine the Mayan society as they gradually realized they were falling. There must have been similarities to today: constant shifting of blame, concentration of resources in the hands of a greedy self-serving elite class, the perpetual optimism of the pleasure-seeking and weak-minded, blind continuation of an economic system that has diminishing utility and purpose. Real conservatives like Teddy Roosevelt are rolling in their graves. Seeing their national parks burn and their party turn into employees of the oil giants and too-big-to-fail companies they fought so hard to break up. Their ideological descendants following a dimwitted clown into the dumpster of history for slogans and nightmares disguised as dreams. Many of us deserve what is coming. Hopefully I’m dead before then.
@SBTejano. Have you recorded the hundreds of millions of death of birds from oil spills, oil pollution,
How about More than 1 million gallons of oil – so far – collected from longest-running spill in U.S. history ,Taylor Energy platform continues to leak oil in the Gulf after 18 years government study estimated the site was releasing up to 29,000 gallons of oil per day…BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill started April 20, 2010 and continues to leak to this day.
More Than One Million Birds Died During Deepwater Horizon Disaster https://www.audubon.org/news/more-one-million-birds-died-during-deepwater-horizon-disaster
How many more continue to die, how about marine life, and humans?
“How does one distinguish between natural cycles and human caused climate change?”
Science, education, intelligence … things you lack.
More Green BS spewing from the left. No doubt this has become a religion for some of y’all. Yes, the Maya faced drought, famine and civil unrest. Wondering what they could have done to have altered their climate? Maybe it’s a natural occurring phenomenon?
So, where are we supposed to get the electricity to power our cars, building and homes? Can one imagine our beautiful Gaviota cast full of sun panels and windmills? Yep, just like outside of Palm Springs! Imagine all those turbines and panels committing genocide on our local sea birds, the horror! After all, it’s not fair to expect the good folks in Lompoc to bear all the burden of all these wind farms…right?
Raw materials for batteries, panels, turbines come from where? That’s right, from intense strip mining! From who? That’s right, the Chi-Com!
Nope, I vote for responsible extracting of fuels right under our feet, natural gas and yes, nuke up until alternative energy sources are financially feasible. Just think, the war on fossil fuels causing social unrest in the third world… just take a look at Sri Lanka, ya that sure is working out! I know, I know what matters is was happening in our little, local, SB bubble.
I suppose the in the Netherlands are just gonna have to deal with it!
“More Green BS spewing from the left.” — Um, no, more science “spewing” from scientists.
Spot on with Sri Lanka Chillin, now do Ukraine…. and the ‘usual oversimplification and MSM BS *yawn*’.
@SBTejano… Have you reviewed the pollution caused by fossil fuels? Far exceeds the entire planet ….https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fossil-fuels-dirty-facts
Every year more than 6 million birds die as they migrate from the United States and Canada to Central and South America, according to USC study published April 25 in the journal PLoS ONE.
The birds are killed by the 84,000 communication towers that dot North America and can rise nearly 2,000 feet into the sky, according to the authors of “An Estimate of Avian Mortality at Communication Towers in the United States and Canada.”
https://pressroom.usc.edu/68-million-birds-die-each-year-at-communication-towers-27-times-more-than-the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-usc-study-finds/
You wanna know what’s really BS? Claiming wind turbines and solar panels ruin natural beauty when we have giant rusting pieces of scrap metal off our coast and all along the Ventura Highway. The oil geniuses even made a stupid little artificial island they never used. And through the usual BS of shell companies avoiding responsibility, the state will need to clean it all up. Talk about welfare queens. Also, if you blame systemic crises like the unrest in Sri Lanka on a “war on fossil fuels,” you are woefully misinformed about the policies of the Rajapaksa oligarchy and longstanding issues of inequality, bad governance, and top-down economic mismanagement that are causing the problem. Usual oversimplification and Faux News BS *yawn*
Guessing you did not advance in academia after high school based on your grade school articulation of the environment and renewable energy. But hey – repuglicans just talk and think since they heard it from their own mouth it must be true.
Interesting that history is repeating itself. All of those human sacrifices didn’t seem to do the trick, except fuel their murderous blood lust. As a side note, SUN mentioned 6 million birds a year being killed by power lines/etc. but it is amazing that no one concerned is concerned about cats… . yes, cats:
“Cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds every year. Domestic cats are one of the world’s worst non-native invasive species.”
Australia has a program that is in full swing to cull at least two million feral cats, and New Zealand is also controlling their cat population as well.
So, if you have a cat…consider not replacing it when it goes to the Great Kitty Koral in The Sky.
Cat people are the most irresponsible pet parents that you can find.
We live at the end of a road and people are dropping of cats like they think it is some kind of sanctuary.
Called the cat people and they say they can’t do anything except try and trap them and fix them(36 so far) and crop an ear then re-release them where they were picked up at.
The coyotes must have a fast food franchise I haven’t heard of yet because, I don’t see any notched ears on any of them.
Word salad.
Chip – actually reading about the subject you are mouthing off about would be a start to understanding climate change.