What natural resources did the southern part have?

The Mayas were a group of people who lived in Central America. They lived in an area of about 500, 000 square kilometers — about 900 kilometers from north to south and about 600 kilometers from east to west. They lived in the area which is today Guatemals, British Honduras, the western part of Honduras, E1 Salvador, and part of Mexico. There are still some Mayas living in that area today, but there used to be a lot more Mayas living there in the past. At one time the Mayan population was over 2 million.
    About 1,000 years ago there were three main parts of the Mayan civilization: the southern part, the central part, and the northern part. The parts were very different; each region had different characteristics.
    The southern part, what is today part of Guatemala and western E1 Salvador, had an excellent climate. It wasn’t too hot and there was a moderate amount of rain. The soil there was good, so plants grew easily. In addition to the good climate, the southern part had many natural resources, such as wood for fuel and stones for building. The combination of good climate and natural resources made the southern part very wealthy. The general wealth of the Mayan civilization was in the southern part.
    In the central area, what is today the southern half of the Yucatan peninsula, the climate was much worse than the climate in the south. It was extremely hot and there were heavy rains. The forests grew quickly. The people had to work hard to control the forests so that they could grow something to eat. It was difficult to live in the central area.
    The northern area, what is today the northern part of the Yucatan peninsula, was even more difficult to live in than the central area. The northern area had very little rainfall and very few plants or trees. It was difficult for anything to grow in this northern area because there is a layer of rock below the surface of the ground. The soil in the northern Yucatan is very rocky. Generally, the people in the north had a difficult life.
    Out of these parts, the southern part, the central part, and the northern part, most of the cultural achievements came from the central area. In addition, most of the Mayan population lived in the central area.
    During the Mayan Classical Period, from 300 to 900 AD, the central area was very important culturally. There were many large ceremonial centers in the central area. Tikal was the largest known center. Originally, people did not live in these centers. The centers were used only for religious ceremonies and as market places. The secenters were empty except on market days and religious festivals. At those times thousands of people came in from the countryside.
    Apparently, towards the end of the Classical Period, in about 700 AD, more and more people began to move into these centers. They used these market centers as a place to live. This increase in population caused problems for the farmers near the centers. The farmers near the market centers had only a small amount of good farming land. But they had to grow more and more food on their land in order to feed the people in the market centers. It became more and more difficult for them to raise enough food.
    Because of overcrowding, the centers became noisy and polluted. Water pollution was one of the greatest problems in the centers. Because the population grew so quickly, the centers didn’t have good enough systems for bringing in clean water and for getting rid of dirty water. So this movement to the market centers caused several serious problems for the Mayas in the central area.
    At the end of the ninth century, in the late 800s, the population in the market centers dropped sharply. Many people moved to the north — to places like Uxmal and Kabah. The market places, the great buildings, the great artistic achievements were left behind.
    Historian have studied these questions. Why did the population drop? Why did the Mayas leave the market area? Why did they move to the north where it was so dry and where the soil was so poor? One theory is that the centers collapsed because of environmental reasons. The overcrowding, the pollution may have caused such problems that people were no longer able to live in the centers. In any case, the great Mayan civilization began to decline around 900 AD. People are still studying the Mayan culture and trying to learn about why the civilization declined.