Fwd: Maya Civilization Collapsed due to a Century-long Drought
2 views
Skip to first unread message
Jon Woodlands
Jan 11, 2015, 8:01:41 PM1/11/15
to Marko Cimesa, Kim Straker, Sky Taylor-Woodlands, Rowena Blackburn, rod castle
Hi guys,
David Archibald (see his book 'Twilight of Abundance') and other climate scientists and historians have written about the disastrous Mayan dryspell, they generally connect it to a period of prolonged reduced solar activity. If we are heading into a Grand Solar Minimum, (as most solar scientists around the world are predicting), Australia can most likely expect longer droughts in a colder world across the 21st century.
David Archibald (see his book 'Twilight of Abundance') and other climate scientists and historians have written about the disastrous Mayan dryspell, they generally connect it to a period of prolonged reduced solar activity. If we are heading into a Grand Solar Minimum, (as most solar scientists around the world are predicting), Australia can most likely expect longer droughts in a colder world across the 21st century.
Note that winters in latitudes further away from the equator are generally getting colder and of longer duration. It seems the solar hibernation has begun. Russian scientist Habibullo Abdussamatov predicts by 2040 we will be in the grip of a mini ice age, which among other things will lead to drastically reduced food production. I would at least keep an open mind on the topic of future climate.
Happy New Year,
Jon 
------------SAN FRANCISCO - The ancient Maya civilization collapsed due to a century-long drought, new research suggests.
Minerals taken from Belize's famous underwater cave, known as the Blue Hole (pictured from space, right), as well as lagoons nearby, show that an extreme drought occurred between the year 800 and 900, right when the Maya civilization disintegrated. After the rains returned, the Maya moved north - but they disappeared again a few centuries later, and that disappearance occurred at the same time as another dry spell, the sediments reveal. [In Photos: Stunning Sinkholes]
Although the findings aren't the first to tie a drought to the Maya culture's demise, the new results strengthen the case that dry periods were indeed the culprit. That's because the data come from several spots in a region central to the Maya heartland, said study co-author André Droxler, an Earth scientist at Rice University.
The Maya civilization flourished in the Yucatan peninsula from 300 to 700. These ancient Mesoamericans built stunning pyramids, mastered astronomy, and developed both a hieroglyphic writing system and a complex calendar system. The Maya calendar became famous in recent years when some doomsayers wrongly claimed that it predicted the end of the world in 2012.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages