Classic Maya Collapse

by T. Patrick Culbert (Editor), Mondragon Coleman Kantrowitz

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77 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1984

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is a scholarly collection of articles, the anthology is readable and enlightening for the lay reader. While it is dated, since there is still no consensus on the causes of the Classic Maya collapse, there is still value in reviewing this original research from pre-1970. Among the articles that stood out were the contribution from E. Wyllys Andrews reminding us that it was a regional, not civilization collapse: Northern Maya cities continued and thrived after the collapse of their sister cities in the Southern Lowlands. Demitri Boris Shimkin offered intriguing parallels to Angkor Wat and urged focused study on the parallels. Has that been done? In recent years, drought is gaining momentum as the leading explanation for this collapse and many articles here explore that. Of particular note is that of William T. Sanders referencing the pioneering work of Ester Boserup.