In the Eighth Century, Cities in the Southern Mayan Lowlands Began to Decline, and were Soon Abandoned

Reading Passage Question

In the eighth century, cities in the southern Mayan lowlands began to decline, and were soon abandoned. To explain this phenomenon, known as the Classic Maya Collapse, scholars have relied upon the drought theory. According to this hypothesis, rapid climate change, caused by mega-droughts--droughts brought about by a combination of regular seasonal droughts and thin, infertile, tropical soil lacking forest cover--devastated the Mayan cities. During the time of the Mayan decline, Northern Europe experienced unusually cold temperatures. Climatic modeling, coupled with tree ring data, demonstrates that such temperature lows are accompanied by droughts in Mesoamerica. Additionally, the drought theory explains the probable presence not only of potential ecological causes, such as infertile soil, but also of potential non-environmental causes, such as civil war and trade decline, by positing that climatic changes cause widespread disruption to cultural aspects of civilization.

Not all facets of the Classic Maya Collapse can be explained by the drought theory, however. For example, if water sources near Mayan settlements dried up, a number of city-states simply would have relocated to areas near other water sources, since it is unlikely that all surrounding water supplies would have evaporated. The abundance of parasite-spread infectious diseases in rainforest areas, however, suggests that the collapse was likely accompanied by an epidemic disease, such as an acute diarrheal illness that rapidly depopulated the Mayan cities, making relocation futile.

“In the eighth century, cities in the southern Mayan lowlands began to decline, and were soon abandoned.” - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 6 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

Question 1
The passage suggests that the role of infertile soil in the Mayan collapse differs from the roles of civil war and trade decline in that infertile soil is a

1. potential factor brought about by mega-droughts
2. potential factor explained by the drought theory
3. potential ecological factor that is a cultural aspect of civilization
4. potential ecological factor that is not a cultural aspect of civilization
5. potential factor with environmental causes

Question 2
Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt upon the explanation provided by the drought theory regarding the cause of the Classic Maya Collapse?

1. The Mayans were dependent on a slash-and-burn system of agriculture that caused soil exhaustion.
2. The populations of some cities in the southern Maya lowlands increased at the beginning of the eighth century.
3. Recent studies show that the ancient Toltec civilization, which frequently traded with the Mayan civilization, declined due to diarrheal illness, rather than drought.
4. The eighth century was a comparatively peaceful time for the Mayans, during which they increased commerce between their main city of Tikal and the Mexican city of Teotihuacan.
5. Recently unearthed historical documents indicate that during the seventh century, seasonal droughts were unusually mild, Mayan trade flourished, and civil unrest was negligible.

Question 3
The author of the passage would be most likely to describe the explanation given by the drought theory for the Classic Maya Collapse in the eighth century as

1. credible, but lacking proof
2. plausible, but derived from unreliable data
3. based on sound reasoning, but insufficient
4. conflicting with recent findings
5. challenging to explain

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