The great Maya droughts in cultural context: case studies in resilience and vulnerability
Date
2014
Authors
Iannone, Gyles, editor
University Press of Colorado, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
In The Great Maya Droughts in Cultural Context, contributors reject the popularized link between societal collapse and drought in Maya civilization, arguing that a series of periodic collapses," including the infamous Terminal Classic collapse (AD 750-1050), were not caused solely by climate change-related droughts but by a combination of other social, political, and environmental factors. New and senior scholars of archaeology and environmental science explore the timing and intensity of droughts and provide a nuanced understanding of socio-ecological dynamics, with specific reference to what makes communities resilient or vulnerable when faced with environmental change. Contributors recognize the existence of four droughts that correlate with periods of demographic and political decline and identify a variety of concurrent political and social issues. They argue that these primary underlying factors were exacerbated by drought conditions and ultimately led to societal transitions that were by no means uniform across various sites and subregions. They also deconstruct the concept of "collapse" itself--although the line of Maya kings ended with the Terminal Classic collapse, the Maya people and their civilization survived. The Great Maya Droughts in Cultural Context offers new insights into the complicated series of events that impacted the decline of Maya civilization. This significant contribution to our increasingly comprehensive understanding of ancient Maya culture will be of interest to students and scholars of archaeology, anthropology, geography, and environmental studies.--Provided by publisher.
Description
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Rights Access
Access is limited to the Adams State University, Colorado State University, Colorado State University Pueblo, Community College of Denver, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University Denver, Regis University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, University of Denver, University of Northern Colorado, University of Wyoming, Utah State University and Western Colorado University communities only.
Subject
Mayas -- History
Mayas -- Social conditions
Mayas -- Antiquities
Droughts -- Central America -- History
Indigenous peoples -- Ecology -- Central America
Human beings -- Effect of climate on -- Central America
Crops -- Central America -- Effect of drougt on
Environmental archaeology -- Central America
Social archaeology -- Central America
Central America -- Antiquities