The Mayan Empire: Water, Water everywhere ...

What caused the fall of the Mayan civilization? Various environmental and human factors have been proposed to explain the unique decline of the Mayans, though some academics believe that the multiple causes for their decline can be explained through environmental change (Lucero 2002). So to fully understand why environmental change could have be the overall driver in the decline on the Mayans it is important to understand the civilizations geographic and social context.

A Map showing the location
and extent of the Mayan Empire
Source: Mayan Countdown

The ancient Mayan civilization is located on the Yucatán Peninsula and its climate is controlled in part by the Inter Tropical Convergent Zone (ITCZ) which result in seasonal monsoons (Haug et al 2003). In laymen terms it means that the Mayans experienced periods of intense rainfall and periods of intense droughts, some of which could last up to and beyond four months (Lucero 2002). For other civilizations such as the Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians, these dry periods are offset by being situated on and or located in the vicinity of, permanent water sources (deMenocal 2000;Butzer 1980c). The Mayans however were typically situated in the Yucatan’s jungle, away from any source of permanent water access such as lakes and rivers ( Linden 2006). In turn this led to the development of various technological advancements to: collect and impound water in artificial lakes and reservoirs, move and distribute the water to the masses, conserving it for periods of intense hardship (Lucero 2002, Linden 2006).

Iconography of Chac,
Mayan God of rain
Source: Project Maya

In turn water itself became a symbol of the elite’s power and led to the development of traditional social interactions which were underpinned by the ‘summoning’ of water from the heavens ( Linden 2006). Rituals were undertaken by the ruling elites to appease Chac, the Mayan God of rain, so that he might bring forth rain and supplement their people (Lucero 2002). These rituals reached a point where the populous believed that their ‘King’ or ruling elite were actually in direct contact with the gods, or were in fact reincarnations of the gods themselves, resulting in praise and tributes from their subjects (Lucero 2002). In turn this ritualistic practice underpinned the very fabric, structure and integrity of the whole Mayan civilization.

Iconography Showing a King
Seated upon a water lilly
Source: Pem.org

It was not just the notion of ‘deity’ which the ruling elite adopted; the notion and iconography of the Water Lilly became central symbol of the elite (Lucero 2002). Water Lilies themselves only grow in exceptionally clean bodies of water and are therefore an exceptional biological indicator of water quality. If a lake has no Water Lilies, then most likely the water is stagnant, polluted and just unhealthy to drink. Therefore the adoption of the Water Lily in the elite motif indicates that they were the ones creating the safe water resource for the people, it was they who were ensuring their survival, and it was them who had the dominance over such a precious scarce resource (Lucero 2002). 

Example of Mayan Aquaducts
Source: MNN.com

Water was so important for the Mayans, probably more so than other civilizations, what would happen if that access to water become more limited, what if the water became stagnant and rife with disease? It certainly would not be an easy ride for the ruling elite, in fact the Mayans experienced several drought events throughout the civilizations history, all of which will be explained in my next blog.