FIRST CONTACTS 28000 BCE 1821 CE
MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS THE OLMECS TO CORTES
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
Most Mayan tribes were slaughtered when the Aztecs took over.
|
|
|
The Mayan languages and traditions have disappeared but not the Mayan people.
|
|
|
The Maya left their cities due to overpopulation, famine and disease
|
|
|
Mayan cities have been destroyed by climate change and wars.
|
Detailed explanation-1: -Today, Mayan people can be found all over Southern Mexico. So why did so many people think that the Mayans disappeared? Most Mayan tribes were slaughtered when the Aztecs took over. Mayan cities have been destroyed by climate change and wars.
Detailed explanation-2: -Another theory is overpopulation. By the peak of the Mayan civilization, there were about 2, 000 people per square mile in some of the cities. That is a staggeringly high population density. The resources that they need are obviously limited and the amount of farming area is also limited.
Detailed explanation-3: -Scholars have suggested a number of potential reasons for the downfall of Maya civilization in the southern lowlands, including overpopulation, environmental degradation, warfare, shifting trade routes and extended drought.
Detailed explanation-4: -The Maya today number about six million people, making them the largest single block of indigenous peoples north of Peru. Some of the largest Maya groups are found in Mexico, the most important of these being the Yucatecs (300, 000), the Tzotzil (120, 000) and the Tzeltal (80, 000).
Detailed explanation-5: -Strained agricultural land may have also led to collapses in crop yields. And overpopulation–as estimates range that between 3 million and 11 million Maya inhabited the area–may have precipitated a scarcity of resources, further destabilizing the once infallible elites.