- Environmental damage
- Climate change
- Relations with hostile neighbors
- Relations with friendly neighbors
- Society’s response to environmental, political, social and economic problems.
The first variable is Environmental damage. The beginning of Mesoamerican Paleo-Indian period that precedes the advent of agriculture is characterized by a nomadic hunter/gatherer subsistence strategy. As the nomadic lifestyle that dominated the late Pleistocene and the early Archaic period turned to a more sedentary lifestyle, hunter/gatherer bands began to cultivate wild plants. The cultivation of these plants provided security to the Mesoamericans, allowing them to increase their surplus of emergency or “starvation foods” near seasonal camps. This could be explained as accidental or on purpose. In the case of the former, certain plant seeds may have been eaten and not fully digested, causing these plants to grow wherever human habitation would take them. Or in the case of the latter, this could mean hunter/gatherer bands replanted certain crops as they moved giving them a steady, seasonal surplus of food. As these camps grew they eventually transitioned from being isolated dwellings to large cities, indicating there was a need for more space for people as well as more space for crops to feed the growing demands of these people. This in and of itself led to eventual damage to their environment through deforestation and erosion of the land.
The theory of environmental damage alone causing the Classic Collapse may be open to debate, but anthropological and ecological evidence clearly shows early Mesoamerican Paleo-Indians were already having an impact on their environment and surroundings (through agriculture and the changing of the land to suit the growing demands of the people) before the Classic Collapse.
The second variable to consider is Climate change which played its own role in the collapse of Mesoamerica. Between 475 BCE and 760 CE there were numerous droughts that had an effect on the climate and its peoples. After a relatively wet period from 5500 BCE to 500 BCE, (pre-Classic Maya) there was a period of dry climate (drought). 475 to 250 BCE, just before the rise of pre-Classic Maya civilization, there was another period of dry conditions. Wetter conditions returned after 250 BCE, but drought again returned by about 125 CE until around 250 CE. This is often associated with the collapse of pre-Classic sites such as El Mirador, Nakbe and El Tintal. The resumption of wetter conditions around 250 CE may have helped facilitate the buildup of Classic Maya cities (200–1000 CE), but even they had their own issues with climate conditions. Their period of buildup and dominance was temporarily interrupted by drought around 600 CE. This can be seen in the decline of Tikal and other sites. Around 760 CE there was a drought that some Climatologists consider the worst in the last 7000 years. It peaked around 800 CE and correlates with the final “Classic” collapse of Mesoamerica. Proponents of the climate change collapse theory make a valid argument when discussing climate change and its adverse effect on Mesoamerica. Taking climate change at face value only helps to strengthen their argument that one big drought brought about the Classic collapse. However, climatology and anthropology tell a different story. Climate change affected different areas at different times in the period ranging from 760 CE to 910 CE. The latest dating on stone monuments at various Maya locations show that the collapse varies among sites and falls into three groups. 810 CE, 860 CE, and 910 CE. These all correlate with the dating for the three most severe droughts.
Well there can be no argument that climate change had its own effect on the fall of Mesoamerica, climate change hitting different areas at different time’s show that this alone wasn’t enough to bring about the collapse of Mesoamerica.
The third variable is the idea of Relations with hostile neighbors. History shows that relations with neighboring societies ebb and flow with the power or lack of power displayed by these societies and the hierarchy in-place within these societies. A society may hold off its encroachers or enemies as long as they remain internally strong and show a willingness to fight for what’s theirs. When they succumb or weaken (food shortages, civil war, drought, political turnover) they become prey for the surrounding groups/communities/states.
The variable of Hostile neighbors affecting collapse carries weight when just seen as military campaigns or conquests. Study shows that it’s the causes of the military campaigns or conquests (food shortages, civil strife, political and religious ideological disagreements, and drought) that contributed to the Classic Collapse NOT military successes or failures. As Diamond points out, “Hence collapses for ecological or other reasons often masquerade as military defeats.”(23)
The fourth variable to consider is the idea of Relations with friendly neighbors. Just as with hostile neighbors, history shows that relations with neighboring societies ebb and flow.
It’s rare to find a historical society who had friendly trading partners as well as enemies. Usually they are one and the same. Their behavior shifts back and forth between hostile and friendly. Most societies depend to a certain degree on trade with friendly neighbors for import of essential goods and products or for cultural ties. When one trade partner becomes weak and can no longer be relied on for trade or culture ties both parties can be weakened. This then leads back to the factor of Relations with hostile neighbors.
Relations with friendly neighbors did play a role in the collapse of Mesoamerica, but power cycles through cities, states and communities. They become powerful then decline and are conquered only to rise up again later and become the new rulers. All of this can happen without great changes in the populations of these areas. This shows that it alone isn’t enough to cause a complete collapse.
This leads to Diamonds last variable, Society’s response to environmental, political, social and economic problems. How a society responds to these problems depends on the society itself. Mayanists have been increasingly accepting the idea of the “court paradigm” of Classic Maya societies that puts the emphasis on the centrality of the royal household and especially the person of the king. It was this ruling elite that was given responsibility for answering these demands placed on their societies. How they answered these demands dictated the path of their society’s success or failure.
The decision making of the elite may have played a role in collapse as societies rose and fell based on those decisions the ruling elite made, but the continued rise and fall of different societies Pre-Classic and Post-Classic demonstrate that life and culture continued to evolve.
Environmental damage, climate change, relations with hostile neighbors, relations with friendly neighbors and society’s response to environmental, political, social and economic problems all played separate roles in the collapse of Mesoamerica. No one of these factors can be individually blamed for the Collapse of Mesoamerica. It’s only when these factors are put together that we see the overall results. A collapse of epic proportions that decimated various cultures and societies that is still reverberating today.
21st century America should pay close attention to the lessons the Collapse of Mesoamerica teaches us. When environmental damage caused by man or nature is ignored or mitigated, political, social and economic problems take center stage. Hurricane Katrina is a micro example of collapse that should be taken as a warning to America. The primary cause of the flooding during Hurricane Katrina was inadequate design and construction of the levees by the Corps of Engineers. Not only was the design inadequate, ecological damage caused in the construction helped exacerbate the effects of the hurricane. This in turn led to political indecision within the structure of local, state and federal officials. This indecisiveness not only caused social problems, people being uprooted and removed from their culture areas, it also caused economic issues that were still prevalent and pervasive in New Orleans ten years later. According to Katy Reckdahl, writing for Politico.com in 2015, “…there are only 700 apartments with public housing-level rents available for the 3,077 households who lived in the four complexes razed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after Katrina. And despite the booming economy, the city’s child-poverty rate has now crept back up to pre-Katrina levels, 39 percent, and the city ranks second in the nation in income inequality.” The lessons from this disaster should not be ignored. Lack of environmental and engineering oversight on a local and federal level, political indecision and the social and economic inequality all played factors in this micro-collapse.
As we move forward into a new American Presidential administration, whoever the electoral declares the winner should take heed. Collapsing infrastructure, social and economic inequality and national and international extremist philosophies are becoming more pervasive every day. Unless something is done to mitigate these issues in a fair, non-partisan way we may find ourselves on the same path as Mesoamerica, a great society that ignored the warning signs and did too little, too late.
Works Cited---
Diamond, Jared M. “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.” New York: Viking, 2005. Print.
Reckdahl, By Katy, By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, By Edward B. Foley, and By Matt Latimer. “The Dark Side of Katrina Recovery.” POLITICO Magazine. N.p., 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
“5 Point Framework.” 5 Point Framework, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
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