Agriculture and the classic Maya Collapse
The Classic Maya civilization, which flourished in the lowlands of what is now southern Mexico and Central America (Mesoamerica for some 600 years, collapsed around AD. 800. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the biggest mysteries in archaeology, made particularly perplexing by the combination of the cultural sophistication attained by the Maya before the collapse and the relative suddenness of the collapse itself. Its cause has been vigorously debated and has been variously attributed to invasion.social turmoil, drought, environmental degradation, and the collapse of trade routes, among other factors. These theories have been subjected to exhaustive analysis by researchers that involves both simulation studies and examinations of trading patterns and demographic and ecological stresses that could have affected population densities.
The archaeologist Patrick Culbert has examined population densities and the potential for agricultural production in the southern lowlands. He has shown that because population densities rose to as many as 200 people per square kilometer (518 per square mile) during the late Classic over such a large area, it was impossible for people to adapt to bad times by moving to new land or emigrating He believes that the magnitude of the population loss during the two centuries after AD. 800 was such that social malfunction alone cannot account for it. Failure of the agricultural base must have been an important component in the collapse equation at the local level.
Maya agriculture became increasingly intense as populations rose, and both terrace (stepped) and raised-field systems covered large areas in many parts of the lowiands. At some of the larger sites like Tikal, the people may have been transporting great quantities of foodstuffs from distances of between 50 and100 kilometers (31 and 62 miles). In the short term, the intensification strategies worked, but they carried the seeds of collapse. The risks of climatic change, plant disease, erosion, and long-term declines in soil fertility are always present in such enterprises. To continue functioning efficiently, the newly intensified systems would have had to have been managed constantly. Just the repair of field systems after floods and rains would have required watchful effort on a large scale, but there are no signs that the Maya made any social changes that enabled them to achieve such a level of management, especially when so many people were engaged in public construction projects and apparently in military activity (perhaps the Maya were under pressure from the north).
Culbert believes that long-term environmental degradation was an important element in the scenario, where short-term gains in productivity were followed by catastrophic declines. For example, as populations rose, fallow cycles (periods when land is left unplanted) may have been shortened. so that there was increased competition between crop plants and weeds; this is a problem that can be solved only by constant weeding, a very labor-intensive activity.Shortened fallow cycles also lead to lower levels of plant nutrients and declining crop yields, and we do not know whether the Maya tried to counteract these trends by systematic mulching or by planting soil-restoring crops. The problem of erosion may have been even more acute. There are signs that the people lost much soil to runoff in the lowlands, for they did not build the terraces needed in time to retain the soil. Some of this erosion may have resulted from extensive deforestation, At the same time, severe drought cycles played havoc with subsistence agriculture in an environment with only moderately fertile soils and already overly dense populations. phenomena now well-documented in Mesoamerican lake sediments. Such droughts may, indeed, have been the trigger that brought about the collapse in the southern lowlands
The sediments of Lake Chichancanab in the Yucatán show a recurring pattern of drought, occurring about every 208 years. The period between AD 800 and 1000 was the driest of the middle to late Holocene, with two arid peaks, the first coinciding with the Classic Maya collapse. Such serious droughts were generally devastating to large-scale agricultural societies depending on surface water and dry agriculture.
1
The Classic Maya civilization, which flourished in the lowlands of what is now southern Mexico and Central America (Mesoamerica for some 600 years, collapsed around AD. 800. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the biggest mysteries in archaeology, made particularly perplexing by the combination of the cultural sophistication attained by the Maya before the collapse and the relative suddenness of the collapse itself. Its cause has been vigorously debated and has been variously attributed to invasion.social turmoil, drought, environmental degradation, and the collapse of trade routes, among other factors. These theories have been subjected to exhaustive analysis by researchers that involves both simulation studies and examinations of trading patterns and demographic and ecological stresses that could have affected population densities.
The word “perplexing” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
AComplex
BSignificant
CInteresting
Dpuzzling
2
The Classic Maya civilization, which flourished in the lowlands of what is now southern Mexico and Central America (Mesoamerica for some 600 years, collapsed around AD. 800. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the biggest mysteries in archaeology, made particularly perplexing by the combination of the cultural sophistication attained by the Maya before the collapse and the relative suddenness of the collapse itself. Its cause has been vigorously debated and has been variously attributed to invasion.social turmoil, drought, environmental degradation, and the collapse of trade routes, among other factors. These theories have been subjected to exhaustive analysis by researchers that involves both simulation studies and examinations of trading patterns and demographic and ecological stresses that could have affected population densities.
The word “exhaustive” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
ARepeated
BRecent
Csophisticated
DThorough
3
The archaeologist Patrick Culbert has examined population densities and the potential for agricultural production in the southern lowlands. He has shown that because population densities rose to as many as 200 people per square kilometer (518 per square mile) during the late Classic over such a large area, it was impossible for people to adapt to bad times by moving to new land or emigrating He believes that the magnitude of the population loss during the two centuries after AD. 800 was such that social malfunction alone cannot account for it. Failure of the agricultural base must have been an important component in the collapse equation at the local level.
According to paragraph 2, what does Patrick Culbert believe is the reason that people did not move to new land when conditions in the southern lowlands became difficult?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AOther areas were less suitable for agricultural production
BThe areas surrounding the lowlands were already densely populated
CPeople miscalculated the potential for agricultural production in the lowlands.
DThe extent of social malfunction was so great that people could no longer adapt.
4
Maya agriculture became increasingly intense as populations rose, and both terrace (stepped) and raised-field systems covered large areas in many parts of the lowiands. At some of the larger sites like Tikal, the people may have been transporting great quantities of foodstuffs from distances of between 50 and100 kilometers (31 and 62 miles). In the short term, the intensification strategies worked, but they carried the seeds of collapse. The risks of climatic change, plant disease, erosion, and long-term declines in soil fertility are always present in such enterprises. To continue functioning efficiently, the newly intensified systems would have had to have been managed constantly. Just the repair of field systems after floods and rains would have required watchful effort on a large scale, but there are no signs that the Maya made any social changes that enabled them to achieve such a level of management, especially when so many people were engaged in public construction projects and apparently in military activity (perhaps the Maya were under pressure from the north).
Why does the author provide the information that at some sites “the people may have been transporting great quantities of foodstuffs from distances of between 50 and100 kilometers (31 and 62 miles)”?
Rhetorical Purpose Questions修辞目的题
ATo argue that agricultural intensification strategies should have been continued in the long term
BTo emphasize the degree of intensification reached by Maya agriculture
CTo show why the intensification strategies were not successful in the short term
DTo give an example of people’s response to the increasing intensity of agriculture
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Maya agriculture became increasingly intense as populations rose, and both terrace (stepped) and raised-field systems covered large areas in many parts of the lowiands. At some of the larger sites like Tikal, the people may have been transporting great quantities of foodstuffs from distances of between 50 and100 kilometers (31 and 62 miles). In the short term, the intensification strategies worked, but they carried the seeds of collapse. The risks of climatic change, plant disease, erosion, and long-term declines in soil fertility are always present in such enterprises. To continue functioning efficiently, the newly intensified systems would have had to have been managed constantly. Just the repair of field systems after floods and rains would have required watchful effort on a large scale, but there are no signs that the Maya made any social changes that enabled them to achieve such a level of management, especially when so many people were engaged in public construction projects and apparently in military activity (perhaps the Maya were under pressure from the north).
Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
Sentence Simplification Questions句子简化题
ANothing indicates that the Maya made any social changes that would have enabled them to achieve the level of organization necessary to repair their field systems.
BThe Maya were unable to make any major social changes because so many people were engaged in public construction projects and in military activity.
CThe repair of field systems after floods and rains required a high level of management and watchful effort on a large scale.
DMost of the public construction projects were designed to support military activity, so there was little effort made to repair field systems damaged by floods and rains.
6
Maya agriculture became increasingly intense as populations rose, and both terrace (stepped) and raised-field systems covered large areas in many parts of the lowiands. At some of the larger sites like Tikal, the people may have been transporting great quantities of foodstuffs from distances of between 50 and100 kilometers (31 and 62 miles). In the short term, the intensification strategies worked, but they carried the seeds of collapse. The risks of climatic change, plant disease, erosion, and long-term declines in soil fertility are always present in such enterprises. To continue functioning efficiently, the newly intensified systems would have had to have been managed constantly. Just the repair of field systems after floods and rains would have required watchful effort on a large scale, but there are no signs that the Maya made any social changes that enabled them to achieve such a level of management, especially when so many people were engaged in public construction projects and apparently in military activity (perhaps the Maya were under pressure from the north).
According to paragraph 3, which of the following was required for the intensification system to succeed?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AIncreased population growth
BConstruction of terraces and raised-field systems
CA great deal of management
DRestriction of intensification practices to small rather than large cities
7
Culbert believes that long-term environmental degradation was an important element in the scenario, where short-term gains in productivity were followed by catastrophic declines. For example, as populations rose, fallow cycles (periods when land is left unplanted) may have been shortened. so that there was increased competition between crop plants and weeds; this is a problem that can be solved only by constant weeding, a very labor-intensive activity.Shortened fallow cycles also lead to lower levels of plant nutrients and declining crop yields, and we do not know whether the Maya tried to counteract these trends by systematic mulching or by planting soil-restoring crops. The problem of erosion may have been even more acute. There are signs that the people lost much soil to runoff in the lowlands, for they did not build the terraces needed in time to retain the soil. Some of this erosion may have resulted from extensive deforestation, At the same time, severe drought cycles played havoc with subsistence agriculture in an environment with only moderately fertile soils and already overly dense populations. phenomena now well-documented in Mesoamerican lake sediments. Such droughts may, indeed, have been the trigger that brought about the collapse in the southern lowlands
What does paragraph 4 suggest about the Maya’s reaction to environmental degradation?
Inference Questions推理题
AThey could have delayed the collapse of their agriculture by mulching and planting soil-restoring crops
BThey were far more concerned about the threat posed by erosion than they were about the threat posed by drought cycles.
CThey were aware that they would achieve short-term gains in agricultural productivity only at the expense of long-term environmental degradation.
DThey devoted most of their available labor power to the constant weeding of their fields.
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The sediments of Lake Chichancanab in the Yucatán show a recurring pattern of drought, occurring about every 208 years. The period between AD 800 and 1000 was the driest of the middle to late Holocene, with two arid peaks, the first coinciding with the Classic Maya collapse. Such serious droughts were generally devastating to large-scale agricultural societies depending on surface water and dry agriculture.
The information in paragraph 5 supports which of the following conclusions?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
ADroughts were a very common phenomenon during the Classic Maya civilization.
BClassic Maya agriculture needed to adjust constantly to periods of drought
CMost of what is known about the Classic Maya period comes from the study of Mesoamerican lake sediments
DThe Classic Maya collapse could have resulted from a period of especially severe drought.
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The Classic Maya civilization, which flourished in the lowlands of what is now southern Mexico and Central America (Mesoamerica for some 600 years, collapsed around AD. 800. [■] The Classic Maya collapse is one of the biggest mysteries in archaeology, made particularly perplexing by the combination of the cultural sophistication attained by the Maya before the collapse and the relative suddenness of the collapse itself. [■] Its cause has been vigorously debated and has been variously attributed to invasion.social turmoil, drought, environmental degradation, and the collapse of trade routes, among other factors.[■] These theories have been subjected to exhaustive analysis by researchers that involves both simulation studies and examinations of trading patterns and demographic and ecological stresses that could have affected population densities.[■]
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
In fact, over 80 different explanations or variations of explanations have been identified.Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
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The Classic Maya civilization flourished for some 600 years before relatively suddenly collapsing around A.D. 800.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
APopulation densities had increased greatly before the collapse. and archaeologist Patrick Culbert believes that the huge population loss after AD. 800 shows that the agricultural base must have failed.
BAs populations grew. agriculture became increasingly intensive and possibly included shortened fallow cycles, a strategy that temporarily yielded productivity gains but eventually led to catastrophic declines.
CAnalyses by archaeologist Patrick Culbert have provided new evidence for collapse theories that prioritize non-agricultural factors, such as social turmoil, invasions, or disruption of trade routes.
DIt was earlier thought that population losses as significant as those that occurred after the collapse could result from people adapting to bad times by moving to new lands or emigrating.
ELarge-scale intensive subsistence agriculture in moderately fertile soils would have been devastated by the period of severe droughts that occurred around AD. 800
FThe collapse of Classic Maya civilization might have been prevented f the Maya had built more terraces while maintaining their traditional agricultural production strategies.
答案：
