The Maya and Climate Change: Human-Environmental Relationships in the Classic Period Lowlands

The Classic Maya civilization, which thrived between 200-950 CE in eastern Mesoamerica, faced many environmental challenges, including those wrought by climate change. The ability of Maya communities to adapt their resource conservation practices played a crucial role in allowing them to survive for as long as they did. Researchers today understand that the breakdown of Classic Maya society was the result of many long-term processes. Yet the story that continues to grip the public imaginati...