The Mayan civilization is famous for its collapse, but could something similar happen in the near future? At least one expert on the region says yes.
American anthropologist and archeologist Arthur Andrew Demarest has studied Mesopotamia for nearly four decades. And while pundits ponder the collapse of the two-party system, Demarest insists Americans should think bigger.
“Almost all civilizations collapse, especially complex ones,” he told Bloomberg in an “Odd Lots” podcast two weeks after the election. “The broadest pattern is that the strengths of civilization are the things that bring it down,” he added.
Demarest, having studied 18 collapses, encourages critics to look at what went wrong in societies, but also believes it may be too late.
“I can’t really help you with being optimistic,” he joked, before sharing his account about the collapse of the Maya and similarities with our own culture.