Real Mayan Apocalypse May Have Been Their Own Fault

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer

Date: 05 December 2011 Time: 03:34 PM ET

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Some believe the end of the Mayan calendar, Dec. 21, 2012, will usher in a new spiritual era or even a doomsday. And new research suggests the civilization's demise long ago may have been partly their own doing. CREDIT: Morphart | Shutterstock View full size image

SAN FRANCISCO — For generations, the Maya thrived in an advanced, complex civilization in modern-day Central America. But then their society collapsed in the eighth and ninth centuries. Now, a new study finds that the Maya may have had a hand in their own apocalypse.
Deforestation in Central America before Europeans arrived contributed to drought in the region, according to the research presented today (Dec. 5) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Researchers have long suspected that drought contributed to the demise of Mayan civilization, though other factors such as conflicts and overpopulation may have also hastened the Maya's doom.



MORE: http://www.livescience.com/17315-mayans-contribute-apocalypse.html

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