A study published in the journal Science has revealed the main reason of the decline of Mayan civilization. The civilization which is said to be the most advanced civilization of America is said to have vanished due to draught or draught like conditions.

A group of researchers from Mexico’s Yucatan Center for Scientific Research and the University of Southampton is of the view that they have studied samples of places near the Mayan. They have found that the civilization has faced an increased scarcity of water, which led to the destruction of the whole Mayan community.

The draught might have destroyed all the major crops and unavailability of water led to the demise. Co-author of the study Eelco Rohling, of the University of Southampton, was of the view that they conducted tests to measure the annual rainfall in the region.

The study revealed that the region has witnessed 40% less rainfall, which is sufficient to decline the Mayan civilization. It seems that the city might have witnessed lesser rainfalls, which reduced the water levels in the available water resources.

“Summer was the main season for cultivation and replenishment of Maya freshwater storage systems and there are no rivers in the Yucatan lowlands”, said Rohling. He further affirmed that the Mayan civilization has witnessed draught up to a great extent and to a level that any further increase in the draught would have been enough to bring famine in the region.

Team member Medina-Elizalde was of the view that the region also has high evaporation rates, which might have enhanced the draught level. Combination of high evaporation rate and fewer rains caused draught condition in the region and became the top reason for the end of the Mayans.