There is no question that climate change has definitely been one of the hottest topics of discussion over the past few decades. Potential rising of temperature might cause increase in sea level, change in weather patterns, extinction of important species and desertification.
Douglas Kennet, an anthropologist at Penn State University, has led a team of scientists to establish whether climate change has been the reason for the collapse of Maya civilization, in an attempt to find patterns that can aid modern society.
For the study published in Science last week, the team analyzed climate records from the past 2000 years, and relating changes between wet and dry period with development of Maya cities in the area of modern-day Belize. The climate data was derived from stalagmites in caves and linked to the numerous archaeological evidence left by the ancient civilization.
Although the reasons behind modern and past climate change are different, the effect this rise in temperature causes should be the same. Natural undulating weather patterns brought extreme moisture, which stimulated the growth of the Mayas. During this wet period, agriculture was blooming.
The following drought that lasted several centuries, however, the resources became scarce. This ruined the authority of the kings and caused political collapse and migration. The wrongly implemented agricultural practices led to severe soil erosion and desertification of land.
Kennett, the publication’s lead author, warns that nowadays we can observe similar patterns, where undermined agricultural systems can affect populations and cause history to repeat itself in many regions around the world.
Via: Clean Technica