Mayan_Collapse_1

For reasons which are still much debated, in the 8th and 9th centuries AD (the "Terminal Classic" period) Maya culture went into decline, with most of the cities of the central lowlands abandoned. Detailed monumental inscriptions all but disappeared. Warfare, ecological depletion of croplands, and drought or some combination of those factors are usually suggested as reasons for the decline.Though there is no universally accepted theory to explain Mayan decline, current theories fall into two categories: ecological and non-ecological.