Religion was very important to the Mayans. They believed that each day, month, and year was a burden to a specific god. The sacred calendar kept track of what God was responsible for each day. The Mayans were very bloodthirsty when it came to sacrifices. It could range from blood being drawn from the earlobes or the tongue. This process made them feel closer to their gods. Mathematics helped them in designing buildings and determining currency for trade. They believed that the numbers 13 and 20 had a sacred meaning. They kept track of observations of the stars and created the 365-day calendar. The Mayans managed to create one of the most accurate calendars in history using a telescope. The sacred calendar had 260 days a year. The solar calendar was 365 days a year. Its purpose was to inform people about different seasons and when to plant crops (Houston 2009). The Maya built palaces, playgrounds, and observatories. The pyramids were based on the ziggurat style. The pyramids were dedicated to a certain god and had a staircase leading to the top. The Maya were on their way to becoming a powerful empire and suddenly the civilization collapsed and the cities were abandoned. After all these achievements, the big question is: how can a prosperous nation, which has developed a complex system, disappear without answers? This question has puzzled many researchers and scientists. There are some theories about the collapse of the ancient Mayan civilization. An article titled The Rise and Fall of the Maya Empire by NASA Science points out that scientists are using space satellites to unravel one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world. "Archaeologists used to debate whether the fall of the Maya was due to drought, war, or dis...... middle of paper... Dos Pilas, Tikal, Copán, and Quirigua went to war with each other quite often: Dos Pilas was invaded and destroyed in 760 AD Were there enough wars between them to cause the collapse of their civilization? (Minster) The theory of the famine was that as the cities grew the population increased and put a strain on food production The change climate could have brought down the ancient Maya. They were extremely vulnerable to drought, floods or any changes in conditions that affected their food supply. The strengths and weaknesses of the hypotheses in this article are simple and basic common sense do not show sufficient scientific evidence Mayan civilization ended the fall of the ancient Mayans was likely caused by a combination of the factors mentioned above (Minster).