Decline of the Maya Classic Period (800s CE)

Timeline

1. 800Petén Basin · Petén BasinCore city-states such as Tikal and Calakmul successively stopped erecting Long Count stelae, and royal inscriptions declined sharply, indicating that the dynastic ritual-political system was beginning to disintegrate; warfare and alliance relations among regions grew increasingly chaotic.
2. 830–850Maya lake region · Petén lake regionPalaces and residential areas of cities such as Copán, Palenque, and those in the Petén lake region were systematically abandoned; agricultural terraces and waterworks fell into disrepair; population dispersed toward the northern Yucatán Peninsula and the highlands, and population density in the southern lowlands dropped markedly.
3. 850–900Northern Yucatán Peninsula · Yucatán PeninsulaNorthern city-states such as Chichen Itza rose, absorbing southern migrants and developing new political-religious models, marking the beginning of the Maya Postclassic; the network of Classic city-states in the southern lowlands essentially came to an end.