What do we actually mean by collapse?

Unlike other complex societies, like those of the semi-arid Mesopotamia, the Maya civilisation did not see cycles of growth, decline and regrowth, but instead experienced a complete system collapse (as mentioned in my previous post) with many areas, in particular the Lowlands, completely abandoned. One of the most baffling thing seems to be that the Classic Maya had established a highly productive agroecosystem that fully utilised the surrounding tropical rainforests, supported by evidence of landscape modification and sustainable practices (Santley et al., 1986). So the question is, how did they not manage to survive?

There is a huge range of literature regarding the various theories on the collapse of the Mayas, with a long list of possible external and internal factors.  Some of these are summarised by Sharer (1994), who identifies tectonic activity, hurricanes, exceeding carrying capacity of the environment, epidemic diseases, internal revolt, economic collapse involving trade and competition, degradation of the environment (reduced soil fertility etc), beliefs in pre-determined cycles, and finally, climate change, as some of the main explanations.

However, since the first in-depth examinations into the Maya demise in the 1970s, there has been an increased realisation that the collapse was varied across the Maya area, occurring at different times and as a result of differing causes (Manahan, 2004). In fact, it has generally been agreed that the terminal Classic collapse occurred first in the southern and central Yucatan lowlands and that many of the northern lowlands declined a century later (Santley et al., 1985).  

Additionally, Lutz (2000) highlights the complexity in singling out causes and suggests that the interactions between population, development and environment are more intricate. The individual explanations have also been rendered inadequate as they lack systematic character (Lowe, 1985 in Santley et al., 1986). I will therefore try and review some of these theories from different points of views, including that of a demographer, climatologist and an anthropologist, to gain a holistic view on what really happened.