Belize's "Blue Hole" Reveals Clues To Maya's Demise

Posted by samzenpus on Monday December 29, 2014 @04:53AM from the drop-of-water dept.

An anonymous reader writes The collapse of the Mayan civilization has been a mystery for decades, but now new research suggests that the blue hole of Belize could provide an answer. Studying minerals from Belize's famous underwater cave, researchers have discovered that an extreme drought occurred between AD 800 and AD 900, which is when the Mayan civilization collapsed. From the article: "Although the findings aren't the first to tie a drought to the Mayan culture's demise, the new results strengthen the case that dry periods were indeed the culprit. That's because the data come from several spots in a region central to the Mayan heartland, said study co-author André Droxler, an Earth scientist at Rice University."

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Re:megadrought theory old by jeffmflanagan · 2014-12-29 05:25 · Score: 2, Insightful

This seems to be confirmation of that old hypothesis (not theory).
Re:Global warming! by Livius · 2014-12-29 05:52 · Score: 2, Insightful

Regional climate change brings down civilizations -- maybe global climate change is something to take seriously.