Your answer to this will of course depend in part on the readings and lectures from your course, but I am happy to provide you with some information to help!

There were many factors that played a role in the rise of Mayan civilization. One of the most significant factors was the development of farming technology. Mayans practiced a method of farming that was called slash and burn. This involved cutting down trees (slashing) and burning them to provide the soil with nutrients. This allowed the Mayans to grow food in fertile soil. The climate in the area also played a role in their ability to farm, because a wide variety of crops could thrive.

The ability to grow an abundance of food allowed the Mayans to develop and maintain a large, healthy population. The ability to regularly harvest food in one place allowed the Mayans to be a sedentary population, meaning that they could stay in one place for a long period of time. Because they didn’t have to move around all the time, they built up their own architecture and developed the complex social structures that made them a distinctive civilization.

Although it was their agriculture techniques that allowed the Mayans to build up their civilization, it was also the reliance on slash and burn agriculture the played a role in the civilization’s downfall. For instance, a long period of drought made it difficult to grow food for the large population.