Part I: Introduction 1. Establish the setting of your paper (2-3 sentences). Establish the setting by explaining the

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Step 6: Rough Draft

Intro

Because you have already done a ton of work with your previous steps, your paper is practically written already. With this step, you will be transferring your previous work into the typical paper form, adding citations, and creating a bibliography and title page.

Not surprisingly, you begin with the introduction. Look at Steps 1 and 6 to find the three elements you need: to establish the context of your paper, to raise your historical question, and to offer your thesis. See below for a sample:

Part I: Introduction

1. Establish the setting of your paper (2-3 sentences). Establish the setting by explaining the time and place of your topic and any other basic background knowledge that would be important to your paper.

The Maya were people who established a civilization in Central America, beginning with the development of agricultural villages around 1500 BCE. By 200 CE, the Maya had stone temples and pyramids, knew how to work with gold and copper, used irrigation, created hieroglyphic writing, and had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy. Maya cities had more than religious buildings; they also included government buildings such as palaces, and possibly entertainment structures, such as large ball courts.

2. Raise your historical question (1-3 sentences). These sentences should connect the basic background information to your historical question.

By 250 CE, the Maya were clearly a classical civilization, with possibly as many as two million people. Unfortunately, after 900 CE, the civilization underwent a severe decline, so that by the time the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, they found only small villages and

abandoned, though still impressive, ruins of the once-great society. What happened to the Maya?

3. Thesis Statement (1 sentence, 3-4 claims). Since the thesis is the direct answer to your historical question, and you have already asked it in the previous step, it is logical that the thesis will follow. Write your thesis statement below.

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Writing the Body of the Paper: the Claims and the Evidence

The next step of your paper is to explain each of the claims you are making in your thesis and to offer proof that the claims are accurate. For each claim, you need to explain the claim first in a paragraph. This information will be found in Step 6, on the Overall Argument Processor.

Once you have explained the claim, you then offer paragraphs of evidence to show your claim is accurate. This information will be found on your Step 6 Outline in your Claim Assessment Processor. Each sub-claim will have its own paragraph (if your sub-claim has multiple

examples, each example might have its own paragraph). MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THE SOURCE SO THAT YOU DON’T COMMIT PLAGIARISM AND FAIL THE PAPER ASSIGNMENT!!!!!!! You will change the parenthetical citations to footnotes later.

See below for the sample paper (but remember, the number of claims and the number of

evidence paragraphs will depend on what you have found and how you have conceptualized your answer):

Part II: Claim 1 (Multiple Paragraphs)

1 st_{Paragraph: Introduce and Explain Claim}

a. Write a topic sentence that summarizes one claim from the thesis. (1 sentence)

Surprisingly, the first ingredient of the collapse of the Maya was their phenomenal success.

b. Write several sentences that explain why or how your first claim happened. (2-3 sentences)

Population grew to the point where the Maya were forced to overwork their resources. The Maya already were at the breaking point, and then bad weather and droughts came.

2 nd_{Paragraph: Present and Explain Evidence for Claim}

a. Write a topic sentence that states one reason the claim is accurate. (1 sentence)

The Maya had been so successful that the population grew at remarkably high rates.

b. Write down 1-2 pieces of evidence (quotation or paraphrase) and explain how the evidence proves your claim. Be sure to cite your evidence. (author last name, page #)

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densely populated.” (Lemonick, 44-50)

3 rd_{Paragraph: Present and Explain Evidence for Claim}

Unfortunately for the people, large populations require the use of enormous amounts of resources, and the Maya were running out.

The hillsides near the river valleys were, at first, covered with forests. As the population grew, however, the forests were cut down for fuel and soil erosion began, bringing the lower quality dirt to the previously fertile river valleys. Therefore, the river valleys became less good for growing the increasingly necessary foods. To make matters worse, the lack of trees might have also contributed to drought, since trees are needed for water recycling. (Maya: A Classic Case)

4 th_{Paragraph: Present and Explain Evidence for Claim}

The archaeological evidence supports this version of events.

Culbert, looking at underground debris, concludes that the tropical forest was nearly entirely gone at the time of the collapse. Another archaeologist, Vernon Scarborough, from the University of Cincinnati has found evidence of rainwater-dependent reservoir systems in many landlocked Maya cities. With long periods of drought, these cities would have been doomed. (Lemonick, 44-50)

The long periods of drought did, in fact, occur.

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Part III: Claim 2 (Multiple Paragraphs)

Droughts brought on the second ingredient of the collapse of the Maya.

Shortages of food led to conflicts over the scarce resources. Rather than working together as a civilization, Mayas turned on each other as they became more desperate. Cities launched attacks on each other for control of precious, and increasingly scarce, resources.

The Maya civilization was made up of competing small kingdoms, dependent upon a limited food supply of corn.

In this society, Maya kings were both head priests and political leaders. Usually, the king’s authority came from his claim to have connections to the gods, and therefore, from his ability to get good things from the gods for his subjects. With drought and environmental destruction, however, the kings would likely be challenged by others in wars, leading to more devastation. (Diamond, The Last Americans, 43-51)

The case of Caracol, in present-day Belize, clearly shows the evidence of this pattern.

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Another archaeological case involves the lower Ulua River Valley in Honduras.

There, archaeologists John Henderson of Cornell University and Rosemary Joyce of the University of California, Berkley, have found evidence that small villages along the valley in the 700s CE disappeared by the 800s. Where did these villagers go? The answer appears to be that the villagers moved to high ground, an elevated hilltop in the middle of the valley. Why would they move to an area that was farther away from their source of food? To gain defensive military advantages seems like a likely answer. (Malakoff, 12-18)

All of the evidence points to increased wars at the same time as the disappearance of between 90 and 99% of the Maya population.

As noted historian Jared Diamond says, “That evidence comes from discoveries of several types over the last 55 years: archaeological excavations of massive fortifications surrounding many Maya sites; vivid depictions of warfare and captives…and the decipherment of Maya writing, much of which proved to consist of royal inscriptions boasting of conquests.” (Diamond, Collapse, 174) Struggles over territory occurred between cities; struggles over good quality land were bound to occur inside cities as well.

Part IV: Claim 3 (Multiple Paragraphs)

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Because of the intense rivalries, there were competitions between cities for “…wealth and status…which they the cities would seek to achieve by lavish ceremonial displays…”(Culbert, 114) These types of expenses probably would continue even with the drought, because winning the competitions would be seen as even more important. Inside the cities, rulers had maintained their power in part through claiming connection with the gods. The kings got credit when things went well; they would be blamed by the nobles when things went badly. (Culbert, 345-346)

With the droughts, things did begin to go badly.

The wars over scarce resources disrupted the abilities of the workers to produce or trade goods. As Diamond argues, “That warfare would have decreased further the amount of land available for agriculture, by creating no-man’s lands between principalities where it was now unsafe to farm.” (Diamond, Collapse, 176)

With a constant threat of war, people from one city would hardly risk traveling to another city, which could be an enemy at a moment’s notice.

Without trade, exchange of ideas and technologies would stop. There would be more and more differences between the people of the region, who might leave to find better situations somewhere else: “The ultimate effects of all this violence are most clearly seen around Dos Pilas, where… refugees fled to other regions…” (Webster, 341) A common civilization would have ended.

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Ultimately, the Maya “…succumbed to various combinations of environmental degradation and climate change, aggression from enemies taking advantage of their resulting weakness, and declining trade with neighbors who faced their own environmental problems.” (Diamond, The Last Americans, 44)

Although different Maya cities lost population at different times, the society was collapsing: “By A.D. 930, some archaeologists calculate that the Maya heartland had lost 95 percent of its population.” (Gugliotta, A13)

The population continued to decline, with few artifacts and much tree pollen found after 1235 CE, indicating the forests had returned, replacing the people.

Where had the people gone? As one writer summarizes the current research, “…evidence accumulates that the Maya did not ‘disappear,’ but simply moved: north to Yucatan in Mexico, eastward to Belize and to highland settlements on the edges of the rain forest.” (Gugliotta, A13) Diamond argues that population increase in the north does not prove immigration, but despite his objections, the likelihood is that many Maya left their own dying civilization and tried to build individual lives somewhere else. (Diamond, Collapse, 175)

Writing the Conclusion

The last section of the paper is for the purpose of completing the story of your topic. You want to finish the story you have told, then reflect on your basic interpretation of what occurred and to consider what other issues arise from the work you have done. See below for the example:

Part VI: Conclusion

a. Finish the story you have told. Wrap up any loose ends in the story. You could talk about the later days of key figures you talked about or reference the aftermath of an important event you covered.

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not only shows the droughts that hit the Maya, but also shows how Mayan lifestyles were dependent on rain and how the Maya unknowingly had weakened their environment in such a way as to make the situation worse. Without a unified political system, Mayan city-states turned on each other. Birth rates declined as death rates increased, until the population declined and all that was left were the ruins.

b. Summarize the evidence for the claims and restate your thesis.

Though it achieved impressive things in sciences, the arts and astronomy, the Maya civilization had weaknesses that ultimately caused it to collapse. Political and economic rivalries between the cities and between the leaders wasted resources. These rivalries led to overuse of the natural resources, increasing the odds of drought in the region. This was all the more important

because the Mayan water system depended on rainwater. When droughts finally did strike the region, the Mayan leaders were blamed for the problems, since they had claimed credit for the successes in their rivalries.

c. Raise other questions your research suggests or questions you have.

The Maya collapse offers some warnings for our own future. Overpopulation and misuse of the environment, together with political and economic rivalries, appears to be a recipe for disaster. We would all be better off if historians like Jared Diamond continue to look at environmental and geographic influences on history. If we wish to avoid the fate of the Maya and others in world history, let us learn from their mistakes.

Mechanics

Your rough draft and final paper must meet the following specifications or it will not be accepted:

- Typed

- Double-Spaced - 1” Margins

- 12 Point, Times New Roman Font, Regular - Separate Title Page

- Numbered Pages

- Proper Citation Using Footnotes* - Separate Bibliography Page*

What follows is a brief description of how to make sure your paper meets the above specifications. *The last two pieces are explained in great detail in the citation section.

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You must have your paper typed using a word processing program. The ideal program is Microsoft Word, which is available on every school computer. The rest of the explanations will give instructions for Microsoft Word. If you are using another Microsoft program, like Works, the instructions will be very similar. If you are not using a Microsoft product, consult the program’s help menu to make these adjustments.

Double-Spaced

The default spacing in Microsoft Word is single. To change this, go to the Edit menu and click Select All. Now go to the Format menu and select Paragraph. In the box that pops up, click the arrow on the pull-down menu under Line Spacing and select Double. This will make all the text in your document double-spaced. Anything more or less than double-spaced is

unacceptable.

1” Margins

The default page margins in Microsoft Word are 1” for the top and bottom and 1.25” for the left and right. You will need to go to the File menu and select Page Setup to adjust the margins correctly. In the Page Setup box that pops up, make sure that 1” is typed in every box under margins except Gutter. Your gutter margin should be 0”, which is the default setting.

12 Point, Times New Roman Font, Regular

To change the font, go to the Edit menu and click Select All. Next, go to the Format menu and select Font. Select Times New Roman from the pull-down menu under Font. Select Regular from the pull down menu under Font Style and select 12 from the pull-down menu under Size. You must use this exact font throughout your paper for it to be accepted. The only exceptions to this rule are for the title page, which may include a different font and font size, and the footnotes (explained later), which should be in Times New Roman, 10 point, regular font. The

bibliography page should be in Times New Roman, 12 point, regular font, including the heading.

Separate Title Page

To create a title page, first go to the first line of the first paragraph in your paper. Now click the Insert menu, select the arrow at the bottom of the menu that expands the menu, and select Break. This will create a new blank page. You may dress up your title page in anyway you please, but it must include the following elements:

- Title of Paper - Your Name - Your Class Period - The Date

Numbered Pages

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Style

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The Big Five!

1. Watch for homonyms.

 its v. it's

 there v. their v. they're

 who's v. whose

 your v. you're

 to v. too v. two

2. Pronouns must agree with the antecedent

 No: Congress must get their work done.

 Yes: Congress must get its work done.

3. Use the correct tense for verbs.

 Present -- Action is occurring now. We wait patiently.

 Past -- Action happened already and does not continue to present. We waited patiently.

 Future -- Action is going to happen. We will wait for you tonight.

 Present perfect -- Action happened in past but continues to the present. We have waited for an hour.

 Past perfect -- Action happened in past before another past action. After we had waited for an hour, we left.

 Future perfect -- Action will happen in future before another future action. We will have waited an hour before our bus arrives.

4. Know the difference between complete sentences and fragments. No: Riding her new bicycle.

Yes: I saw Gloria riding her new bicycle.

5. Use commas properly.

 Do not use commas to separate independent clauses unless they have a coordinate conjunction between them.

No: I ran to the bus, I became tired. (run-on) Yes: I ran to the bus, and I became tired.

 Commas separate words in a series.

Yes: I ate a banana, pear, and peach. or

I ate a banana, pear and peach.

 Commas come after a dependent clause that introduces a sentence. No: When I run I become tired.

Yes: When I run, I become tired.

 Use commas to set off phrases that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Commas are not used if the information is essential. Only the context will tell you whether or not to use commas.

Yes: Debra is an actress who inspires admiration.

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Citation

Perhaps the most important part of the research paper project is the correct use of citation. It is very important that you completely understand the rules of citation to complete your paper correctly and avoid plagiarism (Discussed in Step 4).

Appendix C contains the style manual you used for Step 2. You will be using this again for citation in your paper. It is called the Turabian style and it is related to the better known Chicago Style. The Turabian variation on the Chicago Style is the most commonly used style form in historical writing. Citation begins with creating a properly formatted bibliography page.

“How should I write my bibliography page?”

The bibliography page must adhere to a very specific form. You have already done most of the work to create a proper bibliography page in Step 2. The last section of each source page contains a space that asked you to fill in the bibliographic entry. You simply need to retype (or copy and paste) these entries into a list. As you type, recheck the style manual to make sure you have the proper form. (Do not accidently use the footnote entry format for your bibliography page!) Take a look at the bibliography page I created at the end of my example paper. Notice that I have single spaced the entries and indented the second line of each. I have also

alphabetized the entries. Your bibliography page must follow these conventions as well.

“Why do I need footnotes if I already have a bibliography page?”

As we discussed in Step 4, it is not sufficient to just have a bibliography page. Because you used direct quotations and many paraphrases to construct your argument, you will need to indicate to your reader exactly where in the sources you listed in your bibliography they might find the evidence you have cited.

“When do I cite my work with a footnote?”

You should use a footnote every time you directly quote another author or paraphrase another person’s work. Look at the outline you created in Step 5. Each time you identified an author and page number in parenthesis marks a spot where you will insert a footnote. You will not need to include these parenthetical citations in your rough and final draft; the footnotes will do that job now. You will undoubtedly have a lot of footnotes in your paper!

“How do I insert footnotes?”

Most word processing programs have a way to insert them easily. For example, in most versions of Microsoft Word, all you need to do to insert a footnote is the following:

1) Make sure the cursor is on the right side of the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence you need to footnote.

2) Go to the Insert toolbar, select Reference, and then Footnote.

3) Click Insert and the cursor will automatically move to the bottom of the paper. 4) Type footnote text.

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As you insert or delete additional footnotes in the document, Word automatically applies the correct number format. If you do not have Word, consult your programs help menu for details on inserting footnotes.

“What format do the footnotes take?”

Like the bibliographic entries, your footnote entries must be written in a very specific way. Look again at the Turabian style manual in Appendix C. Notice the slightly different format the note will take depending on whether it appears as a footnote or bibliography entry. The differences may seem slight, but they are important to acknowledge. The key is to understand that footnotes identity specific page numbers. It is a good idea to look at the way I formatted my footnotes in the example paper following this section before you begin your own.

Imagine that you have a book titled The Maya of Morgantown: Work and Community in the Nuevo New South by Leon Fink. The University of North Carolina Press published this book in 2003 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Use the space below to write a footnote, using page 205, and a bibliography entry. Remember to reference Appendix C.

Footnote Entry:

Bibliography Entry:

“How do I footnote paraphrased sections?”

You may find yourself paraphrasing an idea from an author over the course of two or three sentences in one of your body paragraphs. You do not need to put a footnote after every sentence you write, but simply at the end of the paragraph. Please note that this will work so long as you have only paraphrased one author in the paragraph. If there are a couple of authors’ ideas being paraphrased in one paragraph, it is best to footnote following each set of sentences. Remember, when in doubt, cite it!

“Do I use the same format every time I cite a source?”

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“How should I cite electronic journals?”

When you are citing articles from electronic journals or specialized encyclopedias, treat them as if they were the actual paper copies. In other words, do not use the website bibliography and footnote citation for these.

Submitting Your Rough Draft: Use Turnitin.com

Submitting a Paper

You will submit papers to your class from your class portfolio. To open your class portfolio, click a class name on your homepage. The class portfolio lists the assignments your instructor has created and your submissions to these assignments. If there are no assignments in your portfolio, your instructor has not yet created class assignments. Until your instructor creates an assignment, you will not be able to submit a paper.

To submit by file upload:

1. Click the submit icon next to the desired assignment in your class portfolio. 2. Select file upload from the submission pulldown menu.

3. Enter a title for your submission.

4. Click the Browse button and locate the paper you want to submit.

5. Click submit. On the following page you will be asked to confirm the text of your submission. If the text checks out, click yes, submit to finalize your submission.

Viewing Your Submissions

After you submit a paper, it will appear in your class portfolio next to its assignment. Sometime this takes a day or so. Every paper you submit can be viewed online by clicking on its title in your portfolio. You can download a paper to your computer in file format by clicking on the file icon.

Checklist for Step 7: Rough Draft  Register at Turnitin.com

 Type your first claim and explanation paragraph. Make sure to insert footnotes wherever you have used quotations or paraphrases of a source, to avoid plagiarism.

 Type your paragraphs that support your first claim with evidence and explanations of the evidence. Make sure to insert footnotes wherever you have used quotations or

paraphrases of a source, to avoid plagiarism.

 Finish remaining claims by following the same format.  Type the introduction.

 Type the conclusion.  Type the bibliography.  Proofread the paper.

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The Mysterious Decline and Fall of the Maya

Name

Period

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The Maya were people who established a civilization in Central America, beginning with

the development of agricultural villages around 1500 BCE. By 200 CE, the Maya had stone

temples and pyramids, knew how to work with gold and copper, used irrigation, created

hieroglyphic writing, and had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy. Maya cities had more

than religious buildings; they also included government buildings such as palaces, and possibly

entertainment structures, such as large ball courts.

By 250 CE, the Maya were clearly a classical civilization, with possibly as many as two

million people. Unfortunately, after 900 CE, the civilization underwent a severe decline, so that

by the time the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, they found only small villages and abandoned,

though still impressive, ruins of the once-great society. What happened to the Maya?

There are many theories that are possible, but the best explanation appears to be a

combination of several factors. Ultimately, the Maya collapse was due to environmental

problems triggering violence throughout the society, both of which combined to cause the

political system to collapse and the population to drop. Overpopulation during sporadic severe

droughts, leading to increasing violence among city-states, both of which leading to loss of faith

in their political systems, brought on the collapse of the Maya civilization.

Surprisingly, the first ingredient of the collapse of the Maya was their phenomenal

success. Population grew to the point where the Maya were forced to overwork their resources.

The Maya already were at the breaking point, and then bad weather and droughts came.

The Maya had been so successful that the population grew at remarkably high rates.

University of Arizona archaeologist T. Patrick Culbert looked at data from nearly 20 separate

Mayan sites and concluded that there were as many as 200 people per square kilometer in the

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heavily populated parts of the pre-industrial world. And the north may have been even more

densely populated.”1

Unfortunately for the people, large populations require the use of enormous amounts of

resources, and the Maya were running out. The hillsides near the river valleys were, at first,

covered with forests. As the population grew, however, the forests were cut down for fuel and

soil erosion began, bringing the lower quality dirt to the previously fertile river valleys.

Therefore, the river valleys became less good for growing the increasingly necessary foods. To

make matters worse, the lack of trees might have also contributed to drought, since trees are

needed for water recycling.2

The archaeological evidence supports this version of events. Culbert, looking at

underground debris, concludes that the tropical forest was nearly entirely gone at the time of the

collapse. Another archaeologist, Vernon Scarborough, from the University of Cincinnati has

found evidence of rainwater-dependent reservoir systems in many landlocked Maya cities. With

long periods of drought, these cities would have been doomed.3

The long periods of drought did, in fact, occur. Gerald Haug of the Potsdam Geoscience

Center put together a team of scientists to measure sediment (dirt layers) in Venezuela’s Cariaco

Basin, in territory that would have been Mayan. “…Haug’s team was able to identify a

significant decline in regional rainfall beginning around A.D. 750, with drought spikes starting at

810, 860 and 910. The sequence corresponds fairly closely to protracted Maya upheavals…”4

Droughts were serious problems for a society that did not have a strong system of agriculture,

given the size of its population.

1_{Michael D. Lemonick, “Secrets of the Maya,”}_Time_{9 August, 1993: 44-50.} 2_{“Maya: A Classic Case,”}_{Natural History}_{April 2005.}

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Periodic droughts explain what historian Richardson Gill found, that collapse dates for

several Maya cities were around 810, 860, and 910 CE.5_{As noted historian Jared Diamond}

observes, the evidence supports the idea that “…a series of droughts caused different Maya

centers to collapse in different years, while sparing centers with reliable water supplies…”6

Droughts brought on the second ingredient of the collapse of the Maya. Shortages of food

led to conflicts over the scarce resources. Rather than working together as a civilization, Mayas

turned on each other as they became more desperate. Cities launched attacks on each other for

control of precious, and increasingly scarce, resources.

The Maya civilization was made up of competing small kingdoms, dependent upon a

limited food supply of corn. In this society, Maya kings were both head priests and political

leaders. Usually, the king’s authority came from his claim to have connections to the gods, and

therefore, from his ability to get good things from the gods for his subjects. With drought and

environmental destruction, however, the kings would likely be challenged by others in wars,

leading to more devastation.7

The case of Caracol, in present-day Belize, clearly shows the evidence of this pattern.

Archaeologists Arlen and Diane Chase, from the University of Central Florida, have found

evidence such as “…burn marks on buildings, the uncharacteristically unburied body of a

six-year-old child lying on the floor of a pyramid, and an increase in war imagery on late monuments

and pottery.”8_{Warfare was present in Caracol and apparently dramatic enough to prevent taking}

the time to have typical burial rites.

5_{Gill Richardson,}_{The Great Maya Droughts}_{(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000) 301.} 6_{Jared Diamond,}_{Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed}_{(New York: Viking Press, 2005) 174.}

7_{Jared Diamond, “The Last Americans: Environmental Collapse and the End of Civilization,”}_{Harper’s Magazine}_, June 2003: 43-51.

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Another archaeological case involves the lower Ulua River Valley in Honduras. There,

archaeologists John Henderson of Cornell University and Rosemary Joyce of the University of

California, Berkley, have found evidence that small villages along the valley in the 700s CE

disappeared by the 800s. Where did these villagers go? The answer appears to be that the

villagers moved to high ground, an elevated hilltop in the middle of the valley. Why would they

move to an area that was farther away from their source of food? To gain defensive military

advantages seems like a likely answer.9

All of the evidence points to increased wars at the same time as the disappearance of

between 90 and 99% of the Maya population. As noted historian Jared Diamond says, “That

evidence comes from discoveries of several types over the last 55 years: archaeological

excavations of massive fortifications surrounding many Maya sites; vivid depictions of warfare

and captives…and the decipherment of Maya writing, much of which proved to consist of royal

inscriptions boasting of conquests.”10_{Struggles over territory occurred between cities; struggles}

over good quality land were bound to occur inside cities as well.

These internal wars led directly to the third ingredient of the destruction of Mayan

civilization: economic and political problems were blamed on the political leaders, who over

time lost control of the regions. Because of the intense rivalries, there were competitions

between cities for “…wealth and status…which they the cities would seek to achieve by lavish

ceremonial displays…”11_{These types of expenses probably would continue even with the}

drought, because winning the competitions would be seen as even more important. Inside the

cities, rulers had maintained their power in part through claiming connection with the gods. The

9_{David Malakoff, “Demystifying the Maya,”}_{American Archaeology}_{Spring 2005: 12-18.}

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kings got credit when things went well; they would be blamed by the nobles when things went

badly.12

With the droughts, things did begin to go badly. The wars over scarce resources

disrupted the abilities of the workers to produce or trade goods. As Diamond argues, “That

warfare would have decreased further the amount of land available for agriculture, by creating

no-man’s lands between principalities where it was now unsafe to farm.”13

With a constant threat of war, people from one city would hardly risk traveling to another

city, which could be an enemy at a moment’s notice. Without trade, exchange of ideas and

technologies would stop. There would be more and more differences between the people of the

region, who might leave to find better situations somewhere else: “The ultimate effects of all

this violence are most clearly seen around Dos Pilas, where…refugees fled to other regions…”14

A common civilization would have ended.

Ultimately, the Maya “…succumbed to various combinations of environmental

degradation and climate change, aggression from enemies taking advantage of their resulting

weakness, and declining trade with neighbors who faced their own environmental problems.”15

Although different Maya cities lost population at different times, the society was collapsing:

“By A.D. 930, some archaeologists calculate that the Maya heartland had lost 95 percent of its

population.”16

The case of Copan is particularly instructive about the overall pattern. 822 CE is the last

time historians can find writing describing any king in the city of Copan, and 850 CE is around

the time when the royal palace was burned. Copan’s key moment of collapse seems to have

12_{Culbert, 345-346.}

13_Diamond,_Collapse,_176.

14_{David Webster,}_{The Fall of the Ancient Maya}_{(New York: Thames and Hudson, 2002) 341.} 15_{Diamond, “The Last Americans,” 43-51.}

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resulted from attack, but political collapse, though important, was not the end of the story.

Actual collapse of the civilization took a longer amount of time and rested on lack of

communication and emigration from the region. Even a hundred years after the burning of the

royal palace, Copan itself still had approximately 55 percent of its peak population.17

However, the population continued to decline, with few artifacts and much tree pollen

found after 1235 CE, indicating the forests had returned, replacing the people. Where had the

people gone? As one writer summarizes the current research, “…evidence accumulates that the

Maya did not ‘disappear,’ but simply moved: north to Yucatan in Mexico, eastward to Belize

and to highland settlements on the edges of the rain forest.”18_{Diamond argues that population}

increase in the north does not prove immigration, but despite his objections, the likelihood is that

many Maya left their own dying civilization and tried to build individual lives somewhere else.19

The civilization of the Maya ultimately collapsed due to environmental pressures on an

agricultural system too weak for the population it was to keep alive. Archaeological evidence

not only shows the droughts that hit the Maya, but also shows how Mayan lifestyles were

dependent on rain and how the Maya unknowingly had weakened their environment in such a

way as to make the situation worse. Without a unified political system, Mayan city-states turned

on each other. Birth rates declined as death rates increased, until the population declined and all

that was left were the ruins.

Though it achieved impressive things in sciences, the arts and astronomy, the Maya

civilization had weaknesses that ultimately caused it to collapse. Political and economic rivalries

between the cities and between the leaders wasted resources. These rivalries led to overuse of

the natural resources, increasing the odds of drought in the region. This was all the more

17_{Diamond, “The Last Americans,” 43-51.}

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important because the Mayan water system depended on rainwater. When droughts finally did

strike the region, the Mayan leaders were blamed for the problems, since they had claimed credit

for the successes in their rivalries.

The Maya collapse offers some warnings for our own future. Overpopulation and

misuse of the environment, together with political and economic rivalries, appears to be a recipe

for disaster. We would all be better off if historians like Jared Diamond continue to look at

environmental and geographic influences on history. If we wish to avoid the fate of the Maya

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Bibliography

Culbert, T. Patrick, ed.. The Lost Civilization: The Story of the Classic Maya. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.

Demerest, Arthur, et al. The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2004.

Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking Press, 2005.

Diamond, Jared. “The Last Americans: Environmental Collapse and the End of Civilization.” Harper’s Magazine, June 2003, 43-51.

Gill, Richardson. The Great Maya Drought. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000.

Gugliotta, Guy. “No Cataclysm Brought Down Maya.” Washington Post, 14 March 2003, p. A13.

Lemonick, Michael D. “Secrets of the Maya.” Time, 9 August 1993, 44-50.

“Maya: A Classic Case.” Natural History, April 2005. EBSCO. Database

Malakoff, David. “Demystifying the Maya.” American Archaeology, Spring 2005, 12-18. SIRS. Database

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Appendix C: Chicago/Turabian Style Manual (Adapted)

Type

Footnote Entry (First Entry)

Bibliographic Entry

Books

Single Author

framework: Author First and Last Name , _{Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing ) , Page Number .}Title in Italics ( Place of Author Last Name , Author First Name . _{Publisher , Date of Publishing .} Title in Italics . Place of Publishing :

example: Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail

or Succeed (New York: Viking Press, 2005), 174.

Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking Press, 2005.

Two Authors

framework: Author First and Last Name and Author First Name Author Last Name , Title in Italics ( Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing ) , Page Number .

Author Last Name , Author First Name , and Author First Name Author Last Name . Title in Italics . Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing .

example: Linda Schele and David Freidel, A Forest of Kings (New

York: Quill/W. Morrow, 1992), 67. Schele, Linda, and David Freidel. A Forest of Kings. New York: Quill/W. Morrow, 1992. More Than Two Authors

framework: Author First and Last Name , et.al. . _{Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing ) , Page Number .}Title in Italics ( Place of Author Last Name , Author First Name , et.al. . _{Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing .}Title in Italics . Place of

example: Victor Montejo, et.al.. Popol Vuj: Libro Sagrado De Los

Mayas (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 1999), 135. Montejo, Victor, et.al.. Popol Vuj: Libro Sagrado De Los Mayas. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 1999. Editor or Compiler as “Author”

framework: Author First and Last Name , ed. , _{Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing ) , Page Number .}Title in Italics ( Place of Author Last Name , Author First Name , ed. . _{Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing .}Title in Italics . Place of

example:

T. Patrick Culbert, ed., The Lost Civilization: The Story of the Classic Maya (New York: Harper & Row, 1974), 114.

Culbert, T. Patrick, ed.. The Lost Civilization: The Story of the Classic Maya. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.

Component Part by One Author in a Work by Another

framework: Author First and Last Name , “ Component Part Title , ” in Title in Italics , ed. Editor First Name Editor Last Name ( Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing ) , Page Number .

Author Last Name , Author First Name “ Component Part Title . ” In Title in Italics , ed. Editor First Name Editor Last Name , Page Number . Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing .

example:

Alfred Crosby, “Germs, Seeds, and Animals,” in Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, ed. Kevin Reilly (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004), 502.

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Type

Footnote Entry (First Entry)

Bibliographic Entry

Books (cont.)

Signed Encyclopedia Article

framework:

Author First and Last Name , “ Article Title , ” in Title of Encyclopedia in Italics , ed. Editor First Name Editor Last Name . Volume and Edition ( Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing ) , Page Number .

Author Last Name , Author First Name . “ Article Title , ” in Title of Encyclopedia in Italics , ed. Editor First Name Editor Last Name . Volume and Edition . Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing .

example:

David Stuart, “Maya Religion,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 9. 2nd_{ed. (Detroit:}

Macmillan Reference USA, 2005), 5795-5800.

Stuart, David. “Maya Religion,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 9. 2nd_{ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference}

USA, 2005. Unsigned Encyclopedia Article

framework:

“ Article Title , ” in Title of Encyclopedia in Italics , ed. Editor First Name Editor Last Name . Volume and Edition ( Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing ) , Page Number .

“ Article Title , ” in Title of Encyclopedia in Italics , ed. Editor First Name Editor Last Name . Volume and Edition . Place of Publishing : Publisher , Date of Publishing .

example:

“Maya Religion,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 9. 2nd_{ed. (Detroit: Macmillan}

Reference USA, 2005), 5795-5800.

“Maya Religion,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 9. 2nd_{ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.}

Periodicals

Article in a Journal

framework: Author First and Last Name , “ Article Title , ” Italics , Volume and Edition ( Date of Publishing ) : Page Journal Title in Number .

Author Last Name , Author First Name . “ Article Title . ” Journal Title in Italics , Volume and Edition ( Date of Publishing ) : Page Number .

example:

Clifford T. Brown, “The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation,” Ethnohistory, Vol. 52, Issue 4 (Fall 2005): 800.

Brown, Clifford T.. “The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation.” Ethnohistory, Vol. 52, Issue 4 (Fall 2005): 800-801.

Article in Magazine

framework: Author First and Last Name , “ Article Title , ” _{in Italics}_{, Date of Publishing , Page Number .} Magazine Title Author Last Name , Author First Name . “ Article Title . ” _Italics_{, Date of Publishing , Page Numbers .} Magazine Title in

example:

Jared Diamond, “The Last Americans: Environmental Collapse and the End of Civilization,” Harper’s Magazine, June 2003, 44.

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Type

Footnote Entry (First Entry)

Bibliographic Entry

Periodicals (cont.)

Signed Newspaper Article

framework: Author First and Last Name , “ Article Title , ” _{Title in Italics}_{, Date of Publishing , Page Number .}Newspaper Author Last Name , Author First Name . “ Article Title . ” _Italics_{, Date of Publishing , Page Numbers .} Newspaper Title in

example: Guy Gugliotta, “No Cataclysm Brought Down Maya,”

Washington Post, 14 March, 2003, p. A13. Gugliotta, Guy. “No Cataclysm Brought Down Maya.” Washington Post, 14 March, 2003, p. A13.

Electronic

Website or Page

framework: Website Author or Sponsoring Organization . “ Website Name ” ; available at Website Address ; Internet , accessed Date Accessed .

Website Author or Sponsoring Organization . “ Website Name ” ; available at Website Address ; Internet , accessed Date Accessed .

example:

PBS. “The Lost King of The Maya”; available at

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/maya/; Internet, accessed 1 January 2008.

PBS. “The Lost King of The Maya”; available at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/maya/; Internet, accessed 1 January 2008.

Interview

Unpublished Interview by Writer of Paper

framework:

Interviewee First and Last Name , interview by author , General Place Interview was Conducted , Form of Record , Specific Place of Interview , City Interview was Conducted .

Interviewee Last Name , Interviewee First Name , Interviewee Description . Interview by author , Date Interview was Conducted , General Place Interview was Conducted . Form of Record . Specific Place of Interview , City Interview was Conducted .

example:

Jared Diamond, interview by author, 1 January 2008, Chicago, tape recording, Chicago Historical Society, Chicago.

Diamond, Jared, scientists and author. Interview by author, 1 January 2008, Chicago. Tape recording. Chicago Historical Society, Chicago.

Video Recording

Video Recording (Documentary)

framework: Title of Video Recording in ItalicsLast Name , Length , Film Company , Year Produced , Media , Director or Producer First and Type .

Key Creator Last Name , Key Creator First Name . Title of Video Recording in Italics . Director or Producer First and Last Name . Length . Film Company , Year Produced . Media Type .

example: Cracking the Maya Code, dir. David Lebrun, 54 min.,

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Format for Additional Footnote References

"Once a work has been cited in complete form, later references to it are shortened. For this, either short titles or the Latin abbreviation ibid. (for ibidem, "in the same place") should be used" (Chicago Manual of Style, 6th_{Edition, 8.84).}

Example Framework

Use this abbreviation if the previous footnote is the exact same source

and page number. Ibid. Ibid .

Use this abbreviation if the previous footnote is the exact same source

but the page number has changed. Ibid., 33. Ibid . Page Number . Use this abbreviation if a complete footnote has already been used and

the previous footnote is different from the one being cited. Diamond, 45. Author Last Name , Page Number . Appendix C is adapted from: