[5] Aguateca and the nearby city of Dos Pilas were the twin capitals of a powerful dynasty claiming descent from the rulers of Tikal.

[8][9][10] The structural complexes of this ancient Mayan site have provided archaeologists with invaluable information about the societal composition at Aguateca.

The central rooms appear to have served as locations to receive visitors, perform scribe work, and store ritual objects as well as food.

The residents of an elite structure clearly conducted a wide range of mundane activities, including the storage, preparation, and consumption of food.

[2] Each residence was multi-purposeful, and there have been no structures found that were solely dedicated to food storage within the elite residential groups or the royal palace.

[11] An elite Maya man could have conducted various activities, such as stone knapping, carving wood, shell, or bone, as well as administrative, diplomatic, and ritual duties in and outside the residence.

An elite Maya woman may have engaged in different kinds of artistic creation and craft production, in addition to other domestic activities.

Residents made a significant effort to secure spaces for mass spectacles by creating plazas outside of core areas and constructing large causeways.

The presence of plazas of varying sizes suggests that theatrical events also divided the community, separating those who were allowed to participate in exclusive performance from the less privileged.

Artistic and craft production appears to have been a common pursuit among classic Maya elites at Aguateca, including courtiers of the highest rank and even members of the royal family.

Artistic creation, as well as the garnering of ideological, religious, and esoteric production knowledge, were important in exclusionary tactics and elite identity.

Both the rulers of Aguateca and the elite scribes/artists had a larger number of stronger and more substantial obsidian crafted blades than those who lived in smaller residences.

The presence of obsidian also indicates that the Classic Maya at Aguateca were not isolated from other regions but participated in long distance trade to obtain the material.

Such species included marine shells (for decoration) and wild cats such as jaguars, margays, and ocelots (used for pelts, teeth, and claws).

Dominant species for consumption at Aguateca include white-tailed deer, river turtles, dog, agouti, paca, peccaries, as well as large birds and riverine fish.

[18] The Main Plaza of Aguateca contained numerous stone monuments and provided an adequate environment for theatrical performances.

This makes the Main Plaza at Aguateca highly significant because its use as a theatrical space was a primary concern in the design of the city.

The Main Chasm is a naturally formed deep fracture of limestone karst running NE-SW through the middle of the Aguateca site.

The features and natural phenomena observed at the Main Chasm at Aguateca provide a window into the complex manipulation of the transformative properties of the elements and their significance.

Water, as an enduring element of life, was materialized in the form of rain ceremonies, layered with meanings that ranged from sufficient rainfall to dynastic prosperity and power.

[23] The subsistence environment at Aguateca, like at other Classic Maya sites, was limited by shallow, sloped soils and unpredictable weather patterns until their collapse.

[24] Both the royal family and elite scribes/artists at Aguateca used spear and dart points for "inter-group human conflict" as well as for artistic and craft production under enemy threat.

[25] Although inter-group conflict, climate changes, and environmental degradation began to cause social upheaval towards the end of the reign of Aguateca, the ultimate destruction of the center was a result of warfare.

A series of defensive walls that were hastily constructed towards the end of the Late Classic period were probably in response to the escalation of warfare in the region.

Elaborately built structures, such as the Palace Group, contained highly valuable goods, such as greenstone beads, carved alabaster, and shell ornamentation.

Excavations at the Palace Group suggest that the royal family evacuated the center before the attack and anticipated to return, but it appears that members of the elite remained.