use, and occupation patterns can all be established and the knowledge applied to current and future human-environment interactions. Through predation, agriculture, and introduction of foreign biota into new environments, humans have altered past environments. Understanding these past processes can help us pursue conservation and restorative processes in the present. Environmental archaeology provides insight on sustainability and why some cultures collapsed while others survived. Societal collapse has occurred many times throughout history, one of the most prominent examples being the Maya civilization. Using lake sediment core and climate reconstruction technology discussed earlier, archaeologists were able to reconstruct the climate present at the time of the Mayans. Although the Yucatán Peninsula was found to have extreme drought at the time Mayan society collapsed, many other factors contributed to their demise. Deforestation, overpopulation, and manipulating wetlands are only a few theories as to why the Maya civilization collapsed, but all of these worked in tandem to negatively impact the environment. From a sustainability perspective, studying how the Mayans impacted the environment allows researchers to see how these changes have permanently affected the landscape and subsequent populations living in the area. Archaeologists are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate that their work has impact beyond the discipline. This has prompted environmental archaeologists to argue that an understanding of past environmental changes is essential to model future outcomes in areas such as climate change, land cover change, soil health and food security. References External links What is Environmental Archaeology? A-Z of Archaeology: S - Seeds (Botanical Remains) A-Z of Archaeology: T - Taphonomy (Site Formation Processes) Aspects of Archaeology: Archaeozoology Animals, Food and Ancient Culture Association for Environmental Archaeology Historic England - Environmental Archaeology Archaeology Data Service - Environmental Archaeology Bibliography Environmental Archaeology - Theory and Practice: Looking Back, Moving Forwards - open access themed issue Archaeological science Environmental science