The Maya were talented astronomers, religiously intense in their observations of the sun, moon and planets. Now, new research shows something in the heavens may have influenced their culture and ultimately helped bring about their demise. In an article set to appear in Friday's issue of the journal Science, a team of researchers led by a University of Florida geologist reports finding that the Yucatan Peninsula, seat of the ancient Maya civilization, was buffeted by recurrent droughts. In 1995, Hodell and two colleagues at UF published results in the journal Nature suggesting that the ninth-century collapse of the Maya civilization may have been influenced by a severe drought that lasted for more than 150 years.
Cores are samples of lake sediment retrieved by driving a hollow tube into the lake bottom.
The sediments are deposited layer by layer, like a wedding cake, with the oldest layer at the bottom. Such cores provide a timeline that allows researchers to obtain a continuous record of changes in climate, vegetation and land use. For the latest research, Hodell, Brenner and Curtis returned to the lake and collected a new series of cores. The researchers discovered layers of calcium sulfate, or gypsum, concentrated at certain levels in the cores. Lake Chichancanab's water is nearly saturated with gypsum.