Talk:Aztoltec (Papatlaca)

There's another possibility: a slight (but not catastrophic) brake on population might have accelerated some technological development instead of slowing it down. For example:


 * The collapse of the Mayan kingdoms is at least partly due to overpopulation. Waves of Papatlaca deaths would have slowed down this overpopulation and possibly allowed the Mayan kingdoms to last for another couple of centuries.


 * Periodic labor shortages due to plague might have caused the Mayans and Toltecs to come up with creative ways to conserve labor. In Europe, a number of labor-saving inventions (like the water-driven grist mill, the farm horse and the horse collar) became significantly popular after Black Plague depopulations.  One could imagine that a plague-caused labor shortage might have cause the Maya to stop treating the wheel as a toy.


 * Large plague depopulations can also cause social upheaval, which can either advance or retard technological and social progress. While the black plague did destroy some Eastern european centers of learning, for example, it also led to trade guilds and a banking industry by increasing the value of skilled tradesmen and encouraging them to travel.

--Josh