Maya warfare
The goals and motives of warfare in Maya culture are not thoroughly understood, but scholars have developed models for Maya warfare based on several lines of evidence, including fortified defenses around structure complexes, artistic and epigraphic depictions of war, and the presence of weapons such as obsidian blades and projectile points in the archaeological record.
Warfare can also be identified from archaeological remains that suggest a rapid and drastic break in a fundamental pattern due to violence.
[3] Sacrifice not only legitimized the ruler by intimidating rivals and awing the citizens, but was also associated with concepts of sacred fluids and the passage of time.
[3] It is thought that enemies would project missiles at long range, then as they advanced on each other, discipline probably declined, allowing individuals to attempt to personal feats of bravery.
Although the Maya had projectile technology, such as the atlatl and spear, much of the actual fighting was done at close range with "thrusting, stabbing, and crushing".
Knapping chert or obsidian into bifacial projectile points and attaching them to atlatl darts, spears, and arrows was the dominant technology.
Aguateca was a member of the Petexbatún States among which included such polities as Seibal, Itzan, Dos Pilas, Cancuén, Tamarindito, Punta de Chimino, and Nacimiento.
Archaeological remains, along with epigraphy and iconography at the site reveal an expansion of power and military influence from Aguateca by the ruling dynasty during the 8th century, a period noted for endemic warfare in the region.
The site reveals a key feature of Mayan war - that being the involvement of the royal elites in the manufacture and execution of warfare.
north of Belize City in a chert-rich area, Colha offers an in depth look at Maya warfare and collapsed polities during the Terminal Classic.
The skin was cut around the skull vault, around the orbital rims and external nasal aperture, inside the mandibular ramus, and along the lower edge of the mandible.
This, along with the large volume of human remains found inside the defensive walls, suggests that perhaps the inhabitants were prepared for an invasion.
[9] The acropolis of the Classic period site at La Blanca in Petén has produced evidence suggestive of warfare.
During the Late Classic there appears to have been greater public access to the acropolis, with stairways communicating between the various terraces leading up to the south range.
[10] This closing of public access to the palace reflects the greater political instability engulfing the entire Petén region at this time.
[11] Many flint projectile points were recovered from the south terraces of the acropolis, this combined with the remains of two individuals very near the surface indicates that a violent confrontation took place around the time that the city was abandoned.
[15] David L. Webster's work at Becan in the central Yucatán found a ditch with the remains of an embankment on the inner bank surrounding the ceremonial center.
[16] Webster noted that even though the population at Becan was probably much smaller than that of Mayapan, the material moved for its wall was much greater in volume.
The 1966 discovery of a 9.5 kilometer long earthwork north of Tikal's center did much to dispel the notion that the Maya were peaceful.
The prevalent theory on the ancient Maya at the beginning of the 20th century held on to the notion that they had a predominantly peaceful society, idealizing the indigenous culture much like a noble savage.
This view erroneously shifted as the result of poorly documented analysis of iconography and the content of Maya script.
The film depicts the attack on a small village by warriors from a larger polity for the purpose of capturing men to be sacrificed atop a pyramid during a solar eclipse.
[22] The 1963 film Kings of the Sun starts with the conflict between Chichén Itzá warriors using obsidian weapons and invaders led by Hunac Ceel using "ahistorical" metal swords.
