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

Posted by samzenpus on 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."

24 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. Global warming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's so bad that even the past is affected.

    1. Re:Global warming! by cyberchondriac · · Score: 4, Funny

      They should have performed more sacrifices!

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    2. Re:Global warming! by CaptainDork · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This.

      And, poor farming practices -- not entirely the Mayan's fault -- and a refusal to migrate away from great wealth and technology.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    3. Re:Global warming! by Livius · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

    4. Re:Global warming! by Livius · · Score: 2

      In other words, climate change caused by human activity?

    5. Re:Global warming! by drainbramage · · Score: 2

      And an almost fanatical devotion to the pope.

      --
      No brain, no pain.
    6. Re:Global warming! by ChrisMaple · · Score: 2

      And fracking!

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    7. Re:Global warming! by Optali · · Score: 2

      Well, it is happening right now in a lot of places and it has happened in the past in the USA too during the infamouse "Dust Bowl Years" in the 1930s.

      It is also notorious in a huge part of the Mediterranean such as Spain where human activity has changed the whole southern sea shore from a Mediterranean climate rich in woods into a desert with a large erosion (I have been able to see land eroding away some 2-3 meters in a couple of years). This is Climate Change, and it is certainly Human Induced unless you want to claim that agriculture, wrong type of irrigation and water misuse (=golf fields), wrong crops and cutting down the woods for real estate speculation have all been caused by solar spots or that the images on Google Maps are actually based on counterfeit data from the IPCC. And this is happening all around the world since the Green Revolution began. So that we are talking about a Global Climate Change that is obviously human induced.

      And here we are also reaching some tipping points: One of hem is the scarcity of fertile soil and water which is causing displacement of populations right now, through "voluntary" migration but also through land steal as global coroporations are trying to seize fertile soil for cash crops meant to feed cattle.

      I would like to see Mr Inhofe trying to deny this. Good luck with that Jimmy.

      --
      -- 29A the number of the Beast
  2. megadrought theory old by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not really new news to me, 30 years ago taught that a megadrought was likely cause for collapse of most (not all, continued in the north) of Mayan civilization

    1. Re:megadrought theory old by jeffmflanagan · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This seems to be confirmation of that old hypothesis (not theory).

    2. Re:megadrought theory old by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Informative

      there was evidence for it, so more than hypothesis

    3. Re:megadrought theory old by rubycodez · · Score: 2

      Oh, what other european from central or southern Europe discovered the Americas before Columbus? What record did the norse people who discovered the americas leave in their land of origin (ditto question for the waves of asians who came before that).

      Remember, "discover" in the context of exploration does not mean first human ever to find a land. It means finding something unknown to a person or group, that's all. Columbus discovered the Americas for the civilization that sent him.

    4. Re:megadrought theory old by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 3, Informative

      Also remember that American history hide the realities of the American Indians. They had HUGE cities that were as large as some european cities.

      Which "American history" hides this? What I had in HS 30 years ago mentioned Aztec, Maya, Inca cities quite clearly. As well as the droughts and smallpox that seems to have done them in.

      Or were you trying to suggest that the Indians north of the Rio Grande also had huge cities? If so, then, to put it politely, you were mistaken....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    5. Re:megadrought theory old by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Or were you trying to suggest that the Indians north of the Rio Grande also had huge cities? If so, then, to put it politely, you were mistaken....

      Depends on your definition of 'huge' but 100,000 people seems reasonably large.

    6. Re:megadrought theory old by C0R1D4N · · Score: 3, Interesting

      He is incorrect saying "before Columbus" but the first expeditions onto mainland America in the early 1500s showed massive populations that weren't there at the time of early colonization in the late 1500s/early 1600s.

    7. Re:megadrought theory old by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Which has precisely nothing to do with the Mayans, since no Europeans visited any diseases upon them.

      I am mayan, and there are plenty of mayans in mexico, belize and guatemala. I hate that people think we died long ago. We got visited plenty by the europeans. And still continue to this day be visited by europeans.

    8. Re:megadrought theory old by Delwin · · Score: 4, Informative

      Jehovah's Witness != Mormon.

      Two different religions who knock on your door. Please don't confuse them.

    9. Re:megadrought theory old by T.E.D. · · Score: 2
      The Mississippians did in fact have proper cities, and even some bronze use. This is in fact to be expected anywhere you have a fertile river valley, cultivatable crops, and human beings. The largest we know of was at present day East St. Louis, and was likely 6,000-40,000 people at its height (about 1/2 to 1/3 the population of Paris at that time). They even had some bronze working going on there.

      But the important thing to know is that this is just one site. There were similar settlements all up and down the Mississippi and its tributaries. They are usually called "mounds" which is a funny way to talk about a town/city if you ask me. There's even one here in Oklahoma, complete with native copper artifacts. And there are more that were either destroyed, or perhaps have not been found for some reason. We know there were several mowed over when St. Louis was being built in the 1800's.

    10. Re:megadrought theory old by CaptainDork · · Score: 2

      Get well soon.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    11. Re:megadrought theory old by mrchaotica · · Score: 2

      100,000 people in Cahokia in the 13th century would have made it about two or three times larger than London at the time.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  3. Global warming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    You do realize that current leading theories of the cause of the drought in question was mass deforestation caused by the Mayan Civilization?

  4. Well, be chafed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nobody "discovers" anything.

    That is patently ridiculous. Definition of "discover":

    to see, find, or become aware of (something) for the first time
    to show the presence of (something hidden or difficult to see) : to make (something) known
    to learn or find out (something surprising or unexpected)

    The "finding of evidence" sounds exactly like what is defined here. Evidence itself is discovered. If the just-discovered evidence is sufficiently compelling to accept a conclusion, then as a matter of linguistic convenience we can say that the conclusion was also "discovered."

    People discover things all the time. Your strange understanding of the word's meaning is not shared by the rest of the world, so you can count on people continuing to chafe you into the future.

  5. Hello California by rainer_d · · Score: 2

    Look into the past to see your future.

    --
    Windows 2000 - from the guys who brought us edlin
  6. Not a Mystery by tquasar · · Score: 2

    It's been repeated many times. Sinagua, without water. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... The Anasazi: http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/... QED.