The Classic Maya Collapse: A Review of Evidence and Interpretations Page: 3
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3
The present study shall focus on the problem of the Classic
Maya collapse. It does not pretend to prove any single or mul-
tiple causation for the abandonment of the organizational centers,
but rather intends to examine the ideas which have been pro-
posed to explain the mystery of their demise. Rather than a
simple re-statement of past themes, there will be the presen-
tation of evidences used in construction of representative
arguments pertaining to the collapse. Discussion is admittedly
brief,. but hopefully will provide an insight into the historical
development of ideas concerning the collapse.
The theories are as varied as the backgrounds of their
proponents; some are based an inadequate information while
others are the products of imagination. Of necessity, those
inquirers of earlier years were handicapped by their own preju-
dices and an imperfect understanding of Maya society, the
geographic extent of the culture, and their interactions with
contemporaries. Those who earliest demonstrated their interests
in the decayed monuments of a forgotten age confined themselves
largely to descriptions of what remained and speculations about
origins and spent little time wondering why the erstwhile in-
habitants deserted what appeared to have been magnificent cities.
Yet those observations were of utmost importance to later
studies, as through the years, a considerable body of information
about the Maya became available, and more knowledgeable theories
about their collapse could be advanced.
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Wood, Jeffrey Clark. The Classic Maya Collapse: A Review of Evidence and Interpretations, thesis, December 1977; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504349/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .