Mighty Maya Cities Succumbed to Environmental Crisis

PARIS, Sept 7, 2011 (Tierramérica) - The latest archeological findings in the Mirador Basin of Guatemala lend further credence to the theory that the Maya civilisation that once flourished there was brought down by environmental causes such as deforestation.

A major exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly in París until Oct. 2, "Maya: From Dawn to Dusk", features over 150 pieces of art and ceramics from El Mirador, in northern Guatemala, and illustrates the scientific and artistic sophistication of this ancient Mesoamerican civilisation.

The artifacts - cups, sculptures, portions of stele (carved stone slabs) and ceramic reliefs – were recently uncovered at the archeological site in the northern department of Petén, near the Mexican border....

While they demonstrate the high degree of scientific and artistic development of the Mayas, the ceramics and especially the architecture suggest that their collapse was caused by the environmental degradation of the region, says U.S. archeologist Richard Hansen, the director of the Mirador Basin research project and scientific adviser for the Paris exhibition....