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Fall of Civilizations #3 · February 7, 2019 · 100m
The Mayan Collapse: Ruins Among the Trees
Fall of Civilizations
The Classic Maya civilization — a network of city-states in the tropical lowlands — collapsed between 800-900 AD. Cooper examines how a sophisticated civilization with writing, astronomy, and monumental architecture was swallowed by the jungle.
This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.
Canon
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Maya city-states competed through increasingly elaborate temple-pyramids, requiring ever more resources. Each monument became the baseline, demanding a bigger one — until the resources were exhausted.
Highlights
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Environmental degradation can destroy civilizations so gradually that each generation considers the decline 'normal'
The Maya deforested their lowlands over centuries, gradually reducing rainfall, eroding soil, and depleting game. Each generation adapted to a slightly worse environment, never recognizing the cumulative trajectory.Was this useful?