Stalagmites in Mexican caves reveal duration and severity of drought during the Maya collapse
Submitted by Dr C.M. Martin-Jones on Thu, 14/08/2025 - 12:24

A drought lasting 13 years and several others that each lasted over three years may have contributed to the collapse of the Classic Maya civilisation, chemical fingerprints from a stalagmite in a Mexican cave have revealed.

A detailed analysis of oxygen isotopes in the stalagmite allowed a team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, to determine rainfall levels for individual wet and dry seasons between 871 and 1021 CE, which overlaps with the Terminal Classic period of Maya civilisation. This is the first time it has been possible to isolate rainfall conditions for individual wet and dry seasons during the Terminal Classic, the time of societal decline historically referred to as the Maya collapse.

During the Terminal Classic, limestone Maya cities in the south were abandoned and dynasties were ended, as one of the ancient world’s great civilisations shifted north and lost much of its political and economic power.

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This climate data aligns with existing historical and archaeological evidence: construction of monuments and political activity at several major northern Maya sites, including the famous city of Chichén Itzá, stopped at different times during this period of climate stress.

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