Maya collapse, Classic

The Classic Maya Collapse refers to the decline of the Mayan Classic Period and abandonment of the Classic Period Maya cities of the southern Maya lowlands of Mesoamerica between the eighth and ninth centuries.

This should not be confused with the collapse of the Preclassic Maya in the second century CE.

The Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology is generally defined as the period from CE 300 to 900, the last hundred years of which, from CE 800 to 900, are frequently referred to as the Terminal Classic.

The Classic Maya Collapse is one of the biggest mysteries in archaeology.

The classic Maya urban centers of the southern lowlands, among them Palenque, Copán, Tikal, Calakmul and many others, go into decline during the eighth and ninth centuries and are abandoned shortly thereafter.

Archaeologically, this decline is indicated by the cessation of monumental inscriptions and the reduction of large-scale architectural construction at the primary urban centers of the classic period.The "collapse" is not the end of the Maya civilization.

Northern Yucatán in particular prospers, although with very different artistic and architectural styles, and with much less use of monumental hieroglyphic writing.

In the post-classic period following the collapse, the state of Chichén Itzá builds an empire that briefly unites much of the Maya region, and centers such as Mayapán and Uxmal flourish, as do the Highland states of the K'iche' and Kaqchikel Maya.

Independent Maya civilization continues until 1697 when the Spanish conquer Nojpetén, the last independent city-state.

Great numbers of Maya people inhabit the Yucatan peninsula today.

Because parts of Maya civilization unambiguously continues, a number of scholars strongly dislike the term "collapse."

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