Scientists finally solved mystery of why Mayans vanished after thousands of years

Here's the reason behind the collapse of the Mayan civilisation and its people, according to scientists, and it is quite unnerving.

According to National Geographic, the Maya people were a huge Mesoamerican civilisation, making up most of Central America, including Mexico.

It was the Maya who built the first cities, developed standing food cultures, such as the use of corn, and even engaged in a few performative rituals, which have been discovered in 'blood caves'.

However, while their descendants can be found across Central America today, the Maya abandoned the cities that made up their civilisation in the 8th or 9th centuries.

The urbanised lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula, such as Tikal, decayed from bustling cities to ruins over 100 years, but no one knew exactly why.

Scientists may have solved mystery behind why Maya disappeared (Getty Stock Images)

Some believe that war and pandemics explain the mystery, while others have suggested that extraterrestrial or supernatural forces may have been at play. But one theory backed by research is much more realistic... and sinister.

In his 2005 book Collapse, American geographer, historian, and ornithologist Jared Diamond argued that a prolonged drought, exacerbated by deforestation, was the catalyst that led the society to collapse.

Experts tested the hypothesis with archaeological evidence and environmental data, and in 2012, results confirmed that the collapse of an entire culture could be put down to a self-created environmental disaster.

One study found that clearing large areas of forest for agriculture and fuel production reduced the land's capacity to absorb solar radiation.

Meanwhile, a second study, published by researchers from Columbia University, used the cities' huge population numbers and measurements of cleared land to run simulations on how this would have caused a drought, failed crops, and a lack of trade for wealth, and, ultimately, the Mayans were forced to abandon their lowland homes to find food.

A number of factors led to the disappearance of the Maya people (Getty Stock Images)

B.L. Turner, the lead author of one of the studies, claims that the Maya people knew how to survive in their environment and continued to engage in deforestation until their society was destroyed.

Robert Oglesby, a Climate modeller at the University of Nebraska, who worked on the second study, also made a stark warning that similarly interfering with the environment, like the deforestation currently happening in Guatemala, with Global Forest Watch reporting that 26,842 deforestation alerts have taken place between November and December 2025.

He said that it could have some serious consequences, as he added Guatemala 'may be that much more vulnerable to a severe drought'.

Not exactly the cheery thought to take into the new year, but one that might make you think more about doing your bit for looking after the planet.