The Postclassic period, which spans from A.D. 1000 to the fall of the last Maya political capitals of the Highlands around 1524, has been misunderstood as a process of decline. This was not the end of Maya culture, but the exhaustion of a specific model of rule: that of the sacred lords, or k’uhul ajaw. In their place, more pragmatic regimes emerged, along with corporate power structures and an economy that specialized in long-distance maritime trade. This transition demonstrated the Maya's ability to adapt to environmental, political and social crises. The transformation of the Maya Lowlands was caused by environmental changes and shifts in power structures, which led to massive social displacement towards two key geographic regions: the Northern Lowlands, on the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Highlands, in the present-day territories of Guatemala and Chiapas. The fall of sacred rulers was a phenomenon driven by different causes, including environmental changes, prolonged droughts, and agricultural losses.