Apocalypto fans might be forgiven for thinking the fabled collapse of the ancient Maya, the retreat of a civilization from pyramids and ceremonial centers across Central America from 800 to 1000 A.D., involved all sorts of cataclysmic events, war, famine and devastation. Jared Diamond"s Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed detailed how environmental disasters might be to blame, a popular scholarly explanation for the Maya collapse. "These models suggest that as ecosystems were destroyed by mismanagement or were transformed by globalclimatic shifts, the depletion of agricultural and wild foods eventually contributed to the failure of the Maya sociopolitical system," writes environmental archaeologist Kitty Emery of the Florida Museum of Natural History in the current Human Ecology journal.
But in that case, she asks in her study, what do the archaeological remains of what the Maya ate tell us about the collapse? To find out, Emery looked to the precious archaeological resources offering the keys to the past. "We looked mostly at garbage pits," Emery says, 460 of them, left over from former centers of the Petexbatun region of Guatemala, "right in the heart of the central lowlands" wherethe Maya lived. Petexbatun (Peh-tesh-BAH-toon) is best known for the abandoned pyramid centers of Dos Pilas and Cancuen investigated by a group led by Vanderbilt University"s Arthur Demarest for more than a decade. Sorting through trash heaps in the region, Emery and colleagues have collected the bones, shells and scraps thrown away by the Maya who once lived near these sites.
Call it "The Passion of the Maya": Mel Gibson is quietly filming a movie in a Mexican jungle about the collapsed civilization. Given Gibson's cinematic history, experts on the ancient Maya are looking forward to his upcoming epic, "Apocalypto," with a mixture of curiosity and dread. They're pleased that Hollywood will feature a period of world history still little understood but worry that once again a movie may sacrifice historical accuracy for the sake of a good sto...Portal to mythical Mayan underworld found
Mexican archeologists have discovered a maze of stone temples in underground caves, some submerged in water and containing human bones, which ancient Mayans believed was a portal where dead souls entered the underworld. Clad in scuba gear and edging through narrow tunnels, researchers discovered the stone ruins of eleven sacred temples and what could be the remains of human sacrifices at the site in the Yucatan Peninsula. Archeologists say Mayans believed the underground complex of water-filled ...Pre-Incan female Wari mummy unearthed in Peru
Archaeologists have uncovered carved stucco panels depicting cosmic monsters, gods and serpents in Guatemala's northern jungle. They are the oldest known depictions of a famous Mayan creation myth. The 26ft long panels were created around 300 BC and show scenes from the core Mayan mythology, the Popol Vuh. It took investigators three months to uncover the carvings while excavating El Mirador, the biggest ancient Mayan city in the world, the site's head researcher, Richard Hanse...Upright skeleton found in Maya tomb
Archaeologists working in Honduras have discovered an entombed human skeleton of an elite member of the ancient Maya Empire that may help unravel some longstanding mysteries of the vanished culture. The remains, seated in an upright position in an unusual tomb and flanked by shells, pottery, vessels, and jade adornments, suggest a surprisingly diverse culture and complex political system in the influential Maya city of Copán around A.D. 650. Located at the western edge of modern-day Honduras nea...Research disputes Maya collapse belief
New research on the Maya civilization which is believed to have collapsed due to its overuse of natural resources and slash-and-burn farming may have actually held a great appreciation forthe environment."For decades, the Maya –– andtheir descendents –– have gotten a bad rap from archaeologists, anthropologists, and other scholars who cite the ancient civilization"s agricultural practices for its eventual collapse. . " View: Fu...What caused the fall of the Maya ?
For over one thousand years the Maya dominated Central America, now scientists believe that their demise may have been severely hastened as the result ofthe deforestation that fuelled their oncemighty civilization."For 1200 years, the Maya dominated Central America. . At their peak around 900 A.D., Maya cities teemed with more than 2,000 people per square mile -- comparableto modern Los Angeles County. " View: Full Article | S...Researchers open cave under Mexican pyramid
Archaeologists are opening a cave sealed for more than 30 years deep beneath a Mexican pyramid to look for clues about the mysterious collapse of one of ancient civilisation"s largest cities. The soaring Teotihuacan stone pyramids, now a major tourist site about an hour outside Mexico City, were discovered by the ancient Aztecs around 1500 AD, not long before the arrival of Spanish explorers to Mexico. But little is known about the civilisation that built the immense city, with its ceremonial ar...Possible Aztec offerings found in Mexico
Submitted by Pendekar Timur: Archaeologists diving into a lake in the crater of a snowcapped volcano found wooden scepters shaped like lightning bolts that match 500-year-old descriptions by Spanish priests and conquerors writing about offerings to the Aztec rain god. The lightning bolts — along with cones of copal incense and obsidian knives — were found during scuba-diving expeditions in one of the twin lakes of the extinct Nevado de Toluca volcano, at more than 13,800 feet above sealevel.Scie...Mayans played pyramids to make music
Sounds like raindrops falling into a bucket of water can be heard while climbing the colossal staircase of Mexico"s El Castillo pyramid suggesting that the Mayans may have used a form of "music" to try and communicate with their gods."Sit on the stepsof Mexico"s El Castillo pyramid in Chichen Itza and you may hear a confusingsound. . As other visitors climb the colossal staircase their footsteps begin to sound like raindrops fa...
All our articles are sorted under categories and topics, making it easier to cross reference different subjects. Below are all the different categories the articles are sorted under alphabetically.
47(46/1) 
Apocalypto fans might be forgiven for thinking the fabled collapse of the ancient Maya, the retreat of a civilization from pyramids and ceremonial centers across Central America from 800 to 1000 A.D., involved all sorts of cataclysmic events, war, famine and devastation. Jared Diamond"s Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed detailed how environmental disasters might be to blame, a popular scholarly explanation for the Maya collapse. "These models suggest that as ecosystems were destroyed by mismanagement or were transformed by globalclimatic shifts, the depletion of agricultural and wild foods eventually contributed to the failure of the Maya sociopolitical system," writes environmental archaeologist Kitty Emery of the Florida Museum of Natural History in the current Human Ecology journal. 
View: Full Article | Source: USA Today 
'Apocalypto' now for Mel, Maya and historians
Portal to mythical Mayan underworld found
Pre-Incan female Wari mummy unearthed in Peru
Stunning Mayan carvings of cosmic monsters
Research disputes Maya collapse belief
Researchers open cave under Mexican pyramid
Possible Aztec offerings found in Mexico
Mayans played pyramids to make music
