Kings and Generals

Why did the Maya civilization collapse? (2018x46)

Air date: Aug 30, 2018

In our final animated historical documentary on the Maya civilization we describe the reasons for its collapse, covering the societal, political, environmental reasons and the Spanish invasion of the region. By the early 8th century the Maya civilization was at its zenith. Building and maintaining cities of such scale that future explorers hypothesized that they must have been built by lost tribes of Israel or the Phoenicians. But only 150 years later the flourishing Classic Maya civilization had crumbled, undergoing one of the most devastating social and demographic upheavals in human history. Yet the Maya wouldn’t succumb to Spanish control until 1697, nearly 200 years after the Aztecs and Inca. The great collapse and fall of the Maya are a story of change, triumph and tragedy, where ancient thrones will be shattered but from them new powers will emerge.