Temple timbers trace collapse of Mayan culture
2nd June 2009
THE builders of the ancient Mayan temples at Tikal in Guatemala switched to inferior wood a few decades before they suddenly abandoned the city in the 9th century AD. The shift is the strongest evidence yet that Mayan civilisation collapsed because they ran out of resources, rather than, say, disease or warfare.
“Palaeoethnobotanist” – now there’s a career field.
June 2nd, 2009 at 20:01
Paleoethnobotanist – is that someone who rules on the ethical repercussions of the plant choices made by ancient peoples?