Maya: The Fall Of An EmpireApril 6, 2025

Could climate change and pollution be responsible for the decline of the Mayan empire around the year 1000? The Maya civilisation, which lasted for 20 centuries, experienced a golden age between 250 and 950 AD. Yet the Mayan cities were abandoned at the height of their glory. Thanks to the work of Mexican, American and French archaeologists and paleoclimatologists, as well as the tools deployed by NASA, scientists now know that the real cause of the Mayan decline was a great wave of drought. A discovery that raises questions in today's society.

Maya: The Fall Of An Empire was broadcast on SBS ONE at Sunday 6 April 2025, 11:26.