Ancient civilizations perished due to climate change.

The civilizations of the Maya, Vikings, and the Khmer Empire all shared a common fate of disappearing due to the effects of climate change.

Pueblo people in the Americas

According to Mother Nature Network, the Pueblo civilization, also known as "Anasazi" by the Navajo indigenous people of the United States, is the most famous example of an ancient civilization that disappeared due to climate change. The remnants of this civilization are evident in the stone and brick structures built along the cliffs in Mesa Verde National Park and Chaco Canyon, Colorado Plateau, USA.

Stone and brick structures at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, USA. Photo: Alexey Kamenskiy.

The Pueblo people mysteriously left their homeland in the 12th and 13th centuries. Scientists have found evidence of warfare, sacrifice, and cannibalism, but they speculate that the primary cause was climate change altering their habitat.

According to paleoclimatologists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the villages of Mesa Verde and Chaco Gorge gradually declined, coinciding with a prolonged drought in the San Juan River basin between 1130 and 1180. Low rainfall and harsh living conditions led to food shortages. These pressures caused the Pueblo's social structure to gradually disintegrate.

Khmer Empire

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, was once the capital of the Khmer Empire and the world's largest pre-industrial urban center. Built in the 9th century, the city is renowned for its wealth, architectural and artistic heritage, complex network of waterways, and reservoirs that collect rainwater during the summer.

The Ta Prohm temple at Angkor, Cambodia. Photo: Kushch Dmitry.

In the 15th century, Angkor Wat was abandoned due to overexploitation of the ecosystems and a severe water crisis caused by a prolonged drought.

"Angkor is an example of how technology cannot always prevent the decline of a civilization, especially during periods of severe climate instability. Angkor possessed a highly efficient water storage system, but this technological advantage could not prevent the Khmer empire from collapsing under the impact of harsh environmental conditions," said Mary Beth Day, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, England.

Norwegian Vikings on the island of Greenland

While Christopher Columbus is credited as the first European to discover the North American continent, scientists say Norwegian Vikings arrived to explore North America more than 500 years earlier.

The model is based on a Viking church on the island of Greenland. Photo: Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH.

The first Norwegian Viking settlements in southern Greenland flourished for many years before declining in the 14th century. Many researchers and historians speculate that climate change may have been the primary cause.

The presence of Norwegian Vikings on Greenland coincided with the Medieval Warm Period, which lasted from 800 to 1200 AD. During this time, Greenland enjoyed a relatively mild climate, allowing people to live and farm. When the world entered the Little Ice Age in the 14th and 15th centuries, settlements gradually disintegrated. By the mid-1500s, all settlements were abandoned and people moved to warmer lands.

According to VNE