Submission + - Collapse of Mayans Associated with Climate Change (businessweek.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The collapse of the Mayan civilization within decades after 1000 CE was probably triggered by climate change
in the form of centuries-long droughts that resulted in mass starvation and destruction of the king's ritual authority, according to researchers from Pennsylvania State University attempting to assemble the historical climate record by examining stalagmites in a cave in Belize. While this earlier climate change would have been produced by natural, cyclic causes, the study notes that the effects on the Mayas (a civilization that flourished from c. 2000 BCE to 900 CE) were exacerbated by overpopulation and intensive farming. Lead author Douglas Kennett notes possible parallels with the effects of today's climate change on regions such as Africa and Europe. Meanwhile, Dec 21, 2012 is only a few weeks away.
in the form of centuries-long droughts that resulted in mass starvation and destruction of the king's ritual authority, according to researchers from Pennsylvania State University attempting to assemble the historical climate record by examining stalagmites in a cave in Belize. While this earlier climate change would have been produced by natural, cyclic causes, the study notes that the effects on the Mayas (a civilization that flourished from c. 2000 BCE to 900 CE) were exacerbated by overpopulation and intensive farming. Lead author Douglas Kennett notes possible parallels with the effects of today's climate change on regions such as Africa and Europe. Meanwhile, Dec 21, 2012 is only a few weeks away.