The Mayans: Climate Determinism or Geomagnetic Determinism?

Yves Gallet (1) , Agnès Genevey

1 IPGP - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

Climatic variations since the end of the last ice age have been large enough to influence the fate of ancient civilizations, and deciphering the exact role of climate in the history of old societies is an active and challenging domain of research. This potential influence, which serves as the foundation of `climate determinism,' can be viewed as the response of natural-resource-dependent, agriculture-based communities to climatically driven environmental changes. In some cases, these could have provoked major damage in economic and social organization of the societies, thus paving the way for political disintegration.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

Yves Gallet, Agnès Genevey. The Mayans: Climate Determinism or Geomagnetic Determinism?. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 2007, 88, pp.129-130. ⟨10.1029/2007EO110001⟩. ⟨insu-03603194⟩