Toxic Algae Plagued Ancient Maya Civilization

The Maya civilization used to stretch hundreds of miles across the Yucatn Peninsula, with bustling cities, a thriving economy and a booming arts and culture scene. It was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 Archaeologists and other researchers have looked at landscape degradation, volcanoes and the like as possible drivers of instability in the Maya society.

Researchers from the National Academy of Sciences USA investigated a lake bed near the ancient Maya city of Kaminaljuy to find out if there was a problem with the water supply. There are chemicals at the bottom of the lake that make some blooms poisonous. Matthew Waters, a limnologist at auburn University, and his colleagues found a 2,100-year record of algae blooms in a core of lake-bed muck. These toxic blooms would have been better than their modern equivalents. During the time when Maya civilization reached its zenith, the levels of cyanotoxins rose throughout the lake. A previous study showed ancient algae in a lake near the Maya city of Tikal, but Waters says his team is the first to provide definitive evidence of cyanotoxins.

The Maya were worried about the water being contaminated as early as C.E. 200, according to an archaeologist who was not involved in the new study.

Scientists are beginning to understand the extent of water-quality issues during the period of Maya instability. Waters says quantity of water has been studied more than quality. He notes that the blooms alone were not responsible for societal instability, but that having toxic reservoirs could not have helped.

Waters says that the study starts to build a case that water quality and water potability need to be added to the list of environmental stressors on Maya civilization. To avoid pitfalls of the past, it is important to carefully manage land and water.