{"id":192,"date":"2020-06-29T01:04:16","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T01:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/?page_id=192"},"modified":"2025-02-28T02:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:47:12","slug":"dark-age-in-maya-civilization","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/dark-age-in-maya-civilization\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Age in Maya Civilization (c. 540-640 CE)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What happened?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maya civilization, the most advanced society in pre-Colombian America, occupied a large portion of Central America (map below) from c. 2000 BCE until the Spanish conquest in the 16<sup>th<\/sup> century. The civilization reached its peak c. 250-900 CE during the so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/beginning-and-end-of-the-maya-classic-period\/\">Maya Classic Period<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Researchers have realized that there is a 100 year gap in the civilization\u2019s productivity starting in 540 CE, suggesting a \u201cdark age.\u201d The civilization ultimately survived this, as it did with other temporary collapses in the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> and 9<sup>th<\/sup> centuries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During this \u201cdark age\u201d period, the civilization experienced mass crop failure, which led to disease, starvation and, likely, internal strife. People evacuated cities in and around present-day El Salvador. Many moved to present-day Guatemala in the Maya Highlands, which had thicker, richer soils and more reliable water supply than other Maya regions.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cities that were left behind experienced a \u201cdark age\u201d as evidenced by a gap in written records and a sudden decrease in construction in Maya city centers during the 6<sup>th<\/sup> century.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maya culture shifted from the Early Classic period (c. 250\u2013600 CE) to the Late Classic period (c. 600\u2013900 CE) around this time. The Late Classic period was the height of Maya culture. Cities grew in population and influence, increasing tensions within the city and conflicts with other cities. An influx of people into these cities may have contributed to the conflicts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>How is this related to climate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Two massive volcanic eruptions occurred during the 6<sup>th<\/sup> century CE, one in 536 CE and one in either 539 or 540 CE.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scientists have recently identified Ilopango, a volcano in El Salvador (Central America), as the one that erupted in 539 or 540 CE. Some evidence suggests that El Chichon, a volcano in Mexico (North America), may have also erupted in 540 CE.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The eruption of Ilopango shot clouds of volcanic ash into the air. This blocked out sunlight, causing an average drop in global temperatures of 2\u00b0C (3.6\u00b0F), the greatest in 2,000 years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The lack of sunlight and drop in temperatures lead to mass crop failure. Droughts, which can also be triggered by volcanic eruptions, may have contributed as well.\u00a0 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_118\" style=\"width: 824px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118\" class=\"wp-image-118 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2020\/06\/2020-06-04-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"814\" height=\"695\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2020\/06\/2020-06-04-2.png 814w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2020\/06\/2020-06-04-2-300x256.png 300w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2020\/06\/2020-06-04-2-768x656.png 768w, https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/2020\/06\/2020-06-04-2-624x533.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 814px) 100vw, 814px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-118\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of Central America with the location of Ilopango marked with a red dot (from National Geographic Society, \u201cGeography in the News: Demise of the Maya\u201d 2012).<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Further Exploration<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">40,000 to 80,000 people died in the eruption of Ilopango itself. An additional 100,000 to 400,000 people were affected in its aftermath.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Evidence for these volcanic eruptions includes written accounts of a dark fog in the sky and volcanic ash particles found in ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The cooling effects of volcanic eruptions tend to be stronger over land than over water, so the temperature difference between land and water is reduced. These temperature differences drive rainfall and seasonal monsoons, so a reduction in temperature differences may cause droughts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The cities that people fled to, such as those in the Maya Highlands, actually benefited because increasing populations provided a larger workforce and army.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>References and additional resources<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dull, R. A., et al. \u201cRadiocarbon and Geologic Evidence Reveal Ilopango Volcano as Source of the Colossal \u2018Mystery\u2019 Eruption of 539\/40 CE.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quaternary Science Reviews<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, vol. 222, 2019. DOI: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.quascirev.2019.07.037\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10.1016\/j.quascirev.2019.07.037<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greshko, M. \u201cColossal volcano behind &#8216;mystery&#8217; global cooling finally found.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">National Geographic. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2019. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/science\/2019\/08\/colossal-volcano-behind-mystery-global-cooling-found\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/science\/2019\/08\/colossal-volcano-behind-mystery-global-cooling-found\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hall, S. \u201cVolcanic Eruption May Have Plunged the Maya into a &#8220;Dark Age\u201d.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scientific American<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 2017. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/volcanic-eruption-may-have-plunged-the-maya-into-a-ldquo-dark-age-rdquo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/volcanic-eruption-may-have-plunged-the-maya-into-a-ldquo-dark-age-rdquo\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Minster, C. \u201cTimeline of the Maya, From Antiquity to the Present.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ThoughtCo. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2019. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/timeline-of-the-ancient-maya-2136181\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">www.thoughtco.com\/timeline-of-the-ancient-maya-2136181<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Morton, M. C. \u201cLink between Volcanoes and Drought Cools Geoengineering Prospects.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">EARTH Magazine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 2014. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthmagazine.org\/article\/link-between-volcanoes-and-drought-cools-geoengineering-prospects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.earthmagazine.org\/article\/link-between-volcanoes-and-drought-cools-geoengineering-prospects<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zielinski, S. \u201cSixth-Century Misery Tied to Not One, But Two, Volcanic Eruptions.\u201d <i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Smithsonian<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 2015. <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem\" href=\"http:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/sixth-century-misery-tied-not-one-two-volcanic-eruptions-180955858\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/sixth-century-misery-tied-not-one-two-volcanic-eruptions-180955858\/<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How to cite this page<\/h3>\n<p><em>Dark Age in Maya Civilization (c. 540-640 CE)<\/em>. (2023, June 21). Climate in Global Cultures and Histories: Promoting Climate Literacy Across Disciplines. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/dark-age-in-maya-civilization\/\">https:\/\/www.science.smith.edu\/climatelit\/dark-age-in-maya-civilization\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What happened?\u00a0 Maya civilization, the most advanced society in pre-Colombian America, occupied a large portion of Central America (map below) from c. 2000 BCE until the Spanish conquest in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-192","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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