The main reason for the collapse of the Mayan Classic Age was over-farming. Over-farming is proven to weaken soil's ability to sustain crops, and it is even a problem today. Many farmers grow the same, favorite crops over and over again. The same crops take and the same types of nutrients to the soil. If the pattern continues, the soil soon becomes lacking in the nutrients necessary to grow the same crops, and an excess of the "waste nutrients" from the crops. The pattern can be avoided by rotating crops and adding a crop that thrives in "waste nutrient" rich soil and adds nutrients necessary for other crops. The Mayans most likely did not known this, and thus destroyed their soil's farming value.
The Mayan civilization was separated into a number of city-states, basically small countries. The city-states were always fighting each other, and Mayan warfare was excessively violent. When over-farming led to the start of a famine, the city-states fought even more for food. The violent nature of the warfare destroyed even more food and led to the crumble of the civilization. However, the Mayan people did not disappear with the loss of their Classic Age. Instead they lived separately and more primitively among themselves.
The Mayan civilization was separated into a number of city-states, basically small countries. The city-states were always fighting each other, and Mayan warfare was excessively violent. When over-farming led to the start of a famine, the city-states fought even more for food. The violent nature of the warfare destroyed even more food and led to the crumble of the civilization. However, the Mayan people did not disappear with the loss of their Classic Age. Instead they lived separately and more primitively among themselves.
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