EO - Much closer to our own time and place is the Maya civilization of Central America, which thrived between 250 and 900AD. Peter Dunham is an archaeologist at Cleveland State University, specializing in ancient civilizations, and in particular the Maya. Why should we be interested in the Maya?

Peter Dunham - I think we identify with them. They had all the complex features that we do: a remarkable system of mathematics, they invented their own writing system. Remember, we didn't - we borrowed ours. They had absolutely fantastic astronomical knowledge, terribly accomplished architects. They were very, very talented artists and sculptors.

They managed to build this remarkable civilization in the middle of a tropical rain forest: precisely the environment that most successfully resists our inroads today. There are huge areas of Belize that I work in that are full of ancient ruins and not one modern human being because we haven't really figured out how to sustain our civilization in that environment, but they did.

EO - The Mayas may have thrived in the rain forest of Central America, but after peaking between 600 and 800 AD, their civilization declined alarmingly. What happened?

PD - Many of us labor under the misassumption that the Maya disappeared - they didn't. There are still several million Maya people today who take exception to the idea that they disappeared, but they certainly underwent a significant transformation in the century between 800 and 900-or-so AD. And, I think one of the things that draws many of us to the Maya is just that: because if we identify with them as being like ourselves and they experienced this dramatic and traumatic decline, then doesn't that mean that we too ourselves could face something like that? And the answer to that question is "yes." The rules of civilization are the same no matter where or when you play the game.

EO - Through the work of archaeologists, including Peter Dunham, we have learned that a multitude of factors piled up on the Maya until their civilization could bear the weight no more, including environmental degradation caused by overfarming and overpopulation, climate change, drought, malnutrition and disease, and the inability of the political, social, and belief systems to deal with these problems.

PD - We have the good fortune that we actually recognize these issues and we have sciences devoted to trying to address them. This happened so quickly to the Maya that I'm not quite sure they recognized what the problems were, let alone figure out how to resolve them.