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The climate of the Maya enemy

"little benign climate helped shape civilization." This is a statement by British anthropologist Brian Fagan, author of The Long Summer . In this work of his many examples of how abrupt changes stimulated human adaptation, especially in these last 15,000 years of warm weather. This ability to disrupt our environment we should not forget that sometimes, the pressure of work environment as a stimulus.

is so much the importance of the environment in the development of cultures that in many occasions, was or became the natural enemy decisive suffered some decay of empires over the history of mankind. In this regard, Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel , discusses how geographic and environmental conditions determined or favored the dominance of the West. Before the question many times have we raised as to why other cultures were not dominant, such as African, Australian or American, and other Western introduced its domain more broadly. Diamond's answer is based on a number of factors were those that generated the wealth that led to the philosophical rationality and the development of dominant cultures.

In chronological order, agriculture occupies the first place. Its development was first in the fertile Mesopotamia, about ten thousand years ago, and although it has also emerged as elsewhere in Mesoamerica, was in the Middle East where he developed more intensely. The geography and the fact that this area of \u200b\u200bthe planet there were more conducive to plant domestication and cultivation was the determining factor for its development, thanks to the continuous land mass by geographical barriers existing on this continent, led to its expansion throughout Eurasia. Its geographical position is exposed on an east-west and places them in the same latitude, allowing the same species growing in places as distant as China and Spain.

By contrast, Jared Diamond also believes that perhaps the human species would have been better had not developed agriculture, which requires more effort than hunting and gathering. However, it was not so, hardly had developed cultures of the way they did and are the basis of our current reality. The towns prospered at the same time agriculture was expanding, because until then most of the time spent looking for food, gathering, hunting and fishing. The beginning of agriculture gave step to the domestication of animals, while in Eurasia was made easier by the type of animals that powdered, horse, cow, sheep, dog, etc., Africa and America was not so, which also influenced the plowing and transportation, increased agricultural production and improved military techniques.

These developments led to increased population, more leisure was generated and allowed to specialize in other human activities, such as the philosophical and intellectual development. Farmers are dedicated to providing the staple food of the population and pledged his time to the study and development of other arts. Finally, the determinant of Western dominance over other societies lies in social organization and dissemination of technological advances. However, the population growth in turn also led to unsustainable development environment. European companies were the only ones who managed to dominate Eurasia other territories, but not the Middle East and China, much of their lands were deforested and desertified, a situation that occurred in European forests more resistant to deforestation and erosion generated by humans.

Examples Brian Fagan reminds us, in terms of abrupt changes the weather, is that of the last glaciation, which caused the drop in sea level and created a natural bridge in the Bering Strait on the Asian colonized the Americas. Similarly, climate change and led to American culture, also intervened in one of the greatest archeological mysteries that confront us today: the disappearance or decline of the Maya.

may not be correct throughout the term disappearance, in fact the Maya did not disappear, and now we find their descendants in the same Central American region which developed its magnificent culture. It was long a mystery was the decline of major urban centers Maya, but considerable research has been conducted in the region has highlighted some of the reasons why the Maya were forced to leave cities of the forest.

The situation of permanent war with one another in which were the small states was one of these causes. Contrails Toniná tell how the ruling elite of the city embarked on an aggressive military campaign that resulted in the occupation of such important sites as Palenque, Piedras Negras and Bonampak. It is also suspected that other states could have carried out similar campaigns military ruined cities. In this context as violent and turbulent climate was accompanied by a mismatch that caused the phenomenon of El Niño, which should have major consequences for agriculture in the Maya area, which sparked the protests against the priestly class, who blamed as responsible for the lack of food.

are useless sacrifices and prayers to the gods of the Mayan priests, the great cities and ceremonial centers were abandoned for lack of food. The sediments of lakes in the Yucatán preserve the memory of a succession of droughts from the ninth century, one of which lasted 150 years. Researchers at the University of Florida (USA) responsible in part for the decline or decadence of the Mayan Empire, the sun, a 208-year cycle of increased solar activity which was developed by then. Discoveries that underscore the importance of Jared Diamond gives agriculture and geography in his theory of why Western culture was expanding its control over other territories, in this case on the Maya, in decline when the conquerors English arrived in the Americas.