New Clues to the Mysterious Fall of the Mayan Civilization Have Been Unearthed Deep Within a Yucatán Cave

Photos: (Left photo) Daniel H. James, Ola Kwiecien, and David Hodell (L-R) install a SYP drip water autosampler in Grutas Tzabnah (Yucatán, Mexico) to analyze seasonal changes in drip chemistry. Credit: Sebastian Breitenbach. (Right photo) Daniel H. James installs a drip rate monitor upon a flowstone in Grutas Tzabnah (Yucatán, Mexico) as part of the wider cave monitoring campaign. Credit: Sebastian Breitenbach. Article by Ryan Whalen. The Debrief – August 14, 2025. Research article: Science Advances. Press release: EurekAlert!

Key factors in the collapse of the Mayan civilization may have been located deep within a Mexican cave, as University of Cambridge-led researchers analyzed the chemical makeup of stalagmites that help explain the decay of a once-powerful civilization. The work provided new insights into the rainfall occurring between 871 and 1021 CE, producing evidence that a single 13-year drought, along with several others […]

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