Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change

Douglas Kennett; Sebastian Breitenbach; Valorie V. Aquino; Yemane Asmerom; Jaime Awe; James Baldini; P. Bartlein; Brendan Culleton; C. Ebert; Chris Jazwa; M. Macri; Norbert Marwan; Victor Polyak; Keith Prufer; Harriet Ridley; Harald Sodemann; B. Winterhalder; Gerald Haug

doi:10.1126/science.1226299

Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change

Douglas Kennett, Sebastian Breitenbach, Valorie V. Aquino, Yemane Asmerom, Jaime Awe, James Baldini, P. Bartlein, Brendan Culleton, C. Ebert, Chris Jazwa, M. Macri, Norbert Marwan, Victor Polyak, Keith Prufer, Harriet Ridley, Harald Sodemann, B. Winterhalder, Gerald Haug

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

468 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The role of climate change in the development and demise of Classic Maya civilization (300 to 1000 C.E.) remains controversial because of the absence of well-dated climate and archaeological sequences. We present a precisely dated subannual climate record for the past 2000 years from Yok Balum Cave, Belize. From comparison of this record with historical events compiled from well-dated stone monuments, we propose that anomalously high rainfall favored unprecedented population expansion and the proliferation of political centers between 440 and 660 C.E. This was followed by a drying trend between 660 and 1000 C.E. that triggered the balkanization of polities, increased warfare, and the asynchronous disintegration of polities, followed by population collapse in the context of an extended drought between 1020 and 1100 C.E.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	788-791
Number of pages	5
Journal	Science
Volume	338
Issue number	6108
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1226299
Publication status	Published - 9 Nov 2012
Externally published	Yes

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Kennett, D., Breitenbach, S., Aquino, V. V., Asmerom, Y., Awe, J., Baldini, J., Bartlein, P., Culleton, B., Ebert, C., Jazwa, C., Macri, M., Marwan, N., Polyak, V., Prufer, K., Ridley, H., Sodemann, H., Winterhalder, B., & Haug, G. (2012). Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change. Science, 338(6108), 788-791. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1226299

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title = "Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change",

abstract = "The role of climate change in the development and demise of Classic Maya civilization (300 to 1000 C.E.) remains controversial because of the absence of well-dated climate and archaeological sequences. We present a precisely dated subannual climate record for the past 2000 years from Yok Balum Cave, Belize. From comparison of this record with historical events compiled from well-dated stone monuments, we propose that anomalously high rainfall favored unprecedented population expansion and the proliferation of political centers between 440 and 660 C.E. This was followed by a drying trend between 660 and 1000 C.E. that triggered the balkanization of polities, increased warfare, and the asynchronous disintegration of polities, followed by population collapse in the context of an extended drought between 1020 and 1100 C.E.",

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Kennett, D, Breitenbach, S, Aquino, VV, Asmerom, Y, Awe, J, Baldini, J, Bartlein, P, Culleton, B, Ebert, C, Jazwa, C, Macri, M, Marwan, N, Polyak, V, Prufer, K, Ridley, H, Sodemann, H, Winterhalder, B & Haug, G 2012, 'Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change', Science, vol. 338, no. 6108, pp. 788-791. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1226299

TY - JOUR

T1 - Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change

AU - Kennett, Douglas

AU - Breitenbach, Sebastian

AU - Aquino, Valorie V.

AU - Asmerom, Yemane

AU - Awe, Jaime

AU - Baldini, James

AU - Bartlein, P.

AU - Culleton, Brendan

AU - Ebert, C.

AU - Jazwa, Chris

AU - Macri, M.

AU - Marwan, Norbert

AU - Polyak, Victor

AU - Prufer, Keith

AU - Ridley, Harriet

AU - Sodemann, Harald

AU - Winterhalder, B.

AU - Haug, Gerald

PY - 2012/11/9

Y1 - 2012/11/9

N2 - The role of climate change in the development and demise of Classic Maya civilization (300 to 1000 C.E.) remains controversial because of the absence of well-dated climate and archaeological sequences. We present a precisely dated subannual climate record for the past 2000 years from Yok Balum Cave, Belize. From comparison of this record with historical events compiled from well-dated stone monuments, we propose that anomalously high rainfall favored unprecedented population expansion and the proliferation of political centers between 440 and 660 C.E. This was followed by a drying trend between 660 and 1000 C.E. that triggered the balkanization of polities, increased warfare, and the asynchronous disintegration of polities, followed by population collapse in the context of an extended drought between 1020 and 1100 C.E.

AB - The role of climate change in the development and demise of Classic Maya civilization (300 to 1000 C.E.) remains controversial because of the absence of well-dated climate and archaeological sequences. We present a precisely dated subannual climate record for the past 2000 years from Yok Balum Cave, Belize. From comparison of this record with historical events compiled from well-dated stone monuments, we propose that anomalously high rainfall favored unprecedented population expansion and the proliferation of political centers between 440 and 660 C.E. This was followed by a drying trend between 660 and 1000 C.E. that triggered the balkanization of polities, increased warfare, and the asynchronous disintegration of polities, followed by population collapse in the context of an extended drought between 1020 and 1100 C.E.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84868531711

U2 - 10.1126/science.1226299

DO - 10.1126/science.1226299

M3 - Article

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 338

SP - 788

EP - 791

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6108

ER -

Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change

Abstract

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