However, complex human–environmental interactions and sociopolitical factors have also been advanced as causes for what is sometimes considered more of a “reorganization” than “collapse,” in which droughts were potentially a contributing factor rather than a direct cause ( 6– 13).

Paleoclimatic records derived from lake and marine sediment cores and speleothems have been interpreted as indicating multiple, often closely spaced, droughts of varying intensity across the Maya Lowlands during the Terminal Classic ( 2– 4), suggesting to some that climate impacts contributed to the disruption of Classic Maya polities and economic organization, and led to a decline in health and population levels ( 5). In recent years, evidence for extended droughts in the Maya Lowlands have gained prominence in both popular and academic circles as a likely cause for the Terminal Classic decline. Population growth and the accompanying environmental impacts of deforestation have historically been suggested as causes of the social decline during this period ( 1). It is widely accepted that something significantly disrupted ancient Maya social order during the Terminal Classic period (ca. While drought would have necessitated shifts in dietary patterns, the range of physiological drought responses for the available food plants would have allowed a continuing food supply under all but the most dire conditions. Our results demonstrate a greater diversity of food sources beyond maize that would have been available to the Maya during climate disruption of the Terminal Classic period than has been previously acknowledged. During extreme drought, lasting several years, our analysis indicates availability of 11% of food plant species. Our analysis indicates availability of 83% of food plant species in short-term drought, but this percentage drops to 22% of food plant species available in moderate drought up to 1 y. Here, we assess drought resistance of all 497 indigenous food plant species documented in ethnographic, ethnobotanical, and botanical studies as having been used by the lowland Maya and classify the availability of these plant species and their edible components under various drought scenarios. Maize was undoubtedly an important staple food of the ancient Maya, but a complete analysis of other food resources that would have been available during drought remains unresolved. Although climate change cannot fully account for the multifaceted, political turmoil of the period, it is clear that droughts of strong magnitude could have limited food availability, potentially causing famine, migration, and societal decline.

Paleoclimatic evidence indicating a series of droughts in the Yucatan Peninsula during the Terminal Classic period suggests that climate change may have contributed to the disruption or collapse of Classic Maya polities.

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