> ideological and population changes in times of crises that, finally, by the tenth century, led to the collapse of the complex sociopolitical organization and

> ideological and population changes in times of crises that, finally, by the tenth century, led to the collapse of the complex sociopolitical organization and the drastic demographic decline in the Maya Central Lowlands An important data point that sociopolitical arrangements do not need external enemies or catastrophic events (earthquakes, volcanos) to implode. Its counterintuitive because one would think that a society "can work things out" rather than collapse. But that is not always so. On the basis of social contracts people might engage in expensive pursuits (eg building extravagant stuff) that prove unsustainable and not possible to salvage once foundatiomal promises and trust are broken. It feels somehow important for our modern era and its many broken contracts and expensive pursuits to understand this vulnerability.