What Happened to the Mayan Civilization
What Happened to the Mayan Civilization?
The Mayan civilization was a thriving culture that occupied a large portion of Mesoamerica and suddenly disappeared around 900 AD. (Sayre, 2011, p. 391) Although researchers cannot find a definite answer explaining what happened to the Mayans, they have theories. One theory suggests mass exodus of the population due to draught, and another focuses on aliens. (Maya Culture Collapse: Current Theory, 2012; Ancient Aliens, The Mayan Conspiracy S04E01, 2012)
The Mayan civilization is thought to have been a kingdom that occupied a large area of land divided into territories. Each territory would produce a food or good to be shared throughout the kingdom. This appeared to work initially; however, the population grew too fast, and repeated long periods of draught led to food and resource shortages, which would eventually force people to relocate to more fruitful areas. The problem with this theory is that with famine comes plague, and researchers have not found evidence of plague or large numbers of bodies that died in short periods. (Maya Culture Collapse: Current Theory, 2012)
Perhaps the most interesting theory is that the rulers of the Mayans were creatures from another planet that were misinterpreted as Gods as believed by Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and other ancient astronaut theorist. Researchers have found carvings that appear to represent beings that have technology more advanced than that of the Mayans. Many of the carvings illustrate spacecraft or beings that are wearing what is comparable to the space suits of modern-day astronauts. One amazing carving is the King Pacal Hand Shield. (King Pacal Hand-Shield, 2012) Some people theorize that this is depicting the death of King Pacal and his decent to the underworld. Others believe that this is an illustration of King Pacal’s space ship that allowed him to return to his home planet. Perhaps aliens ruled the Mayans at first, but the aliens left, and the humans
The Mayan civilization was a thriving culture that occupied a large portion of Mesoamerica and suddenly disappeared around 900 AD. (Sayre, 2011, p. 391) Although researchers cannot find a definite answer explaining what happened to the Mayans, they have theories. One theory suggests mass exodus of the population due to draught, and another focuses on aliens. (Maya Culture Collapse: Current Theory, 2012; Ancient Aliens, The Mayan Conspiracy S04E01, 2012)
The Mayan civilization is thought to have been a kingdom that occupied a large area of land divided into territories. Each territory would produce a food or good to be shared throughout the kingdom. This appeared to work initially; however, the population grew too fast, and repeated long periods of draught led to food and resource shortages, which would eventually force people to relocate to more fruitful areas. The problem with this theory is that with famine comes plague, and researchers have not found evidence of plague or large numbers of bodies that died in short periods. (Maya Culture Collapse: Current Theory, 2012)
Perhaps the most interesting theory is that the rulers of the Mayans were creatures from another planet that were misinterpreted as Gods as believed by Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and other ancient astronaut theorist. Researchers have found carvings that appear to represent beings that have technology more advanced than that of the Mayans. Many of the carvings illustrate spacecraft or beings that are wearing what is comparable to the space suits of modern-day astronauts. One amazing carving is the King Pacal Hand Shield. (King Pacal Hand-Shield, 2012) Some people theorize that this is depicting the death of King Pacal and his decent to the underworld. Others believe that this is an illustration of King Pacal’s space ship that allowed him to return to his home planet. Perhaps aliens ruled the Mayans at first, but the aliens left, and the humans
References: Ancient Aliens, The Mayan Conspiracy S04E01. (2012, 04 20). Retrieved from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPMLB0URPpM King Pacal Hand-Shield. (2012, 04 20). Retrieved from New Odyssey Art: http://www.newodysseyart.co.uk/king_pacal.htm Maya Culture Collapse: Current Theory. (2012, 04 20). Retrieved from authenticmaya.com: http://www.authenticmaya.com/maya_culture_collapse.htm Sayre, H. (2011). The humanities: Culture, continuity and change. Upper Saddle Ridge: Prentice Hall.