On the Yucatan Peninsula, there were repeated droughts in 50-year intervals — in 760, 810, 860, and 910. Why is this interesting? Because that was around the time of the Classic Mayan’s collapse. They relied on collected and stored rainwater to irrigate crops, which fed their large cities with elaborate social hierarchies. With repeated droughts, however, their sophisticated agricultural system was stressed and then failed altogether.
Archaeological evidence points to hungry cities warring over the remaining resources, civil wars erupting, and large-scale migrations in search of food. Outside invaders took advantage of the chaos. In the end, the cities disappeared, leaving ruins in the jungles and a culture that many people in the region still identify with today.
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