The Maya - the Culture and the Fall of the Empire

The classic Maya culture started to decline in the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. Most of the cities of the central lowlands had been abandoned. Earthquakes, invasions by outsiders, famine, warfare, and drought have all been suggested as possible causes for the fall of the Mayan civilization. By 900 A.D. almost all of the ceremonial centers had been abandoned. Jungle growth had hid many of the sites from destruction by the Spanish conquistadors. The Spanish started to conquer the Maya lands from 1520 to 1697. Still, some of the Maya's numerous ceremonial sites avoided destruction. …