Great Blue Hole: Scientists know quite a few things about the Mayan diaries and writing system but also about their ritual sacrifices. The great mystery, however, remains: What exactly caused the decline of their culture around 900 AD? ;
Now a group of researchers from Rice University and Louisiana State University are one step closer to solving the mystery thanks to "Big Blue Hole" (Great Blue Hole). The famous Blue Hole, located in the Caribbean off the coast of Belize, became popular with the documentaries by Jacques Cousteau who visited 1971 and said it was one of the best diving sites in the world.
The researchers analyzed sediment samples from the Blue Hole, looking for variations in color, grain size, and sediment thickness. They also looked at samples from the Lagoon in Belize, a body of water connected to the mainland, looking at differences in the proportions of titanium and aluminum that help calculate rainfall levels.
Οι αναλύσεις έδειξαν χαμηλά επίπεδα βροχοπτώσεων και μείωση στη συχνότητα των τροπικών κυκλώνων από το 800 έως το 900 μ.Χ. στη χερσόνησο του Γιουκατάν – γεγονός που υποδηλώνει ότι η region χτυπήθηκε από μια μεγάλη ξηρασία εκείνη την εποχή, δήλωσαν αποκλειστικά οι ερευνητές στη Huffington Post.
The survey also showed that another major drought hit the area between 1000 and 1100 AD. , about the time that the Maya city, Chichen Itza, is estimated to have fallen.
"When you have big droughts, you're going to start having famines and riots," said one of its authors. studyDr. André Droxler from Rice University.
The research builds on previous studies that had already suggested climate change as one of the reasons for it drop of the Mayan culture. A 2012 study of a stalagmite from a cave in Belize linked the Mayan extinction to a major drought between 600 and 1000 AD.
The first settlements of Maya were founded in 1800 BC. The culture hit at its peak about 250 AD, reaching a population of about 2.000.000.
