American archaeologist William Rathje developed a hypothesis that considered an explosion in long-distance exchange a fundamental cause of Mayan civilization in Mesoamerica.

【翻译】美国考古学家威廉·拉什杰提出了一种假说，认为长途贸易的剧增是中美洲玛雅文明的根本原因。

【分析】that 从句是定语从句。

1. developed a hypothesis：提出了一种假说

2. considered an explosion in long-distance exchange a fundamental cause of Mayan civilization in Mesoamerica.：是“consider + 宾语 + 名词（宾补）”结构。意为“认为...剧增是...根本原因”。