PS: info or links on the "Maya hiatus"? I found this: Do we know anything else really?This boundary is associated with the "Maya Hiatus", which lasted between 530 and 630 AD. The Maya Hiatus was marked by a sharp decline in monument carving, abandonment in some areas and social upheaval. This event may have been drought-related. During the next 200 years from 600 to 800 AD, the late Classic Maya flourished and reached their cultural and artistic apex.
Honestly, there is very little known about the Maya hiatus. Most of what we know is indirect like political alliances switching and centers of power changing. Dr. Dull told me that one of the biggest areas of research in the future should be focused on better understanding this hiatus. It should be noted that no one really knew about this eruption before his ecological surveys over the past few years. Before that the extreme weather events of 536-537 were a big historical mystery. While I was doing my personal research for the interview my biggest difficulty was wrapping my mind around the fact that all the Maya civilization did not collapse after the eruption. I can't believe it. I can't wait to know more about how they averted collapse.