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In your own words, what is a decline?  What factors might lead to a decline in a civilization?

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Objective: I can explain why the Mayan Civilization declined.

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Directions: Using evidence from the information above, respond to the task below in the space provided.

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Identify one reason why the Mayan Civilization declined. Explain.

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Directions: Read the facts below and then, based on your knowledge of the Maya and the decline of other civilizations, predict what led to the decline of the Mayans.

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What Scholars Know About the Decline of the Mayan Civilization

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What Scholars Know About the Decline of the Mayan Civilization

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Trade between city states declined

War between city states increased

Death rates increased

No new buildings were constructed after 830 CE

No dates were recorded on monuments after 910 CE

People left cities

Similar declines happened in the Mayan past, but the civilization always recovered

The decline was not sudden, it took place over 150 years

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Map of Mayan Cities where most of the population lived.

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The time period from 250-900 CE is considered the Classical Age of Mayan Civilization, its golden age. During this time, there is evidence of prosperity in the Mayan city-state as can be seen by the architectural, scientific, and artistic achievements, evidence of increased trade between city-states, and the establishment of large cities.

Increases in population usually accompany a civilization’s golden age. As a result of findings in 2018, scholars now estimate that as many as 10 million people may have lived in the Mayan Civilization. They also estimate that 95 percent of the land in the region was drained to make farmland to feed the great population. Some suspect that the size of the population put a strain on the land and its ability to produce food for the Mayan people.

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Starting at 2:00, watch "The Mayans disappeared what was the cause?" to the end.

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Between 800 and 925 CE, the golden age of Maya civilization collapsed. People abandoned the great city-states in what is today southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize. The pyramids and palaces built during the golden age became ruins, overgrown by the jungles. Scholars are still trying to figure out what led to the decline of this civilization.

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Reproduction of Mayan murals showing conflicts between Mayan city states.

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Obsidian arrowheads found in Guatemala from the Mayan Civilization.

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Warfare between Mayan city states increased between 800 and 925 CE as the civilization declined as evidenced by an increase in the building of protective walls and large number of arrow heads produced during the period.

Warfare may have increased because of competition over scarce resources like farmland and water which was made worse because of overpopulation and drought.