Terminal Classic Period Maya Warfare
Some of the most dramatic archaeological, osteological and hieroglyphic evidence of conquest, destruction and collapse dates to the Terminal Classic period, in particular at sites along the Usumacinta and Pasion river systems.
Hypotheses put forth to explain this pattern include, most prominently, status rivalry among elites, overpopulation, drought, or some combination thereof. The famous murals ofBonampak were commissioned at the end of the eighth century ce by King Shield Jaguar III of Yaxchilan, to which the site was subordinate. They appear to show a battle waged outside of any settlement, evidence for which is rare in the Maya area. Some scenes take place back in the settlement after the battle and involve the torture and execution of naked captives who have been stripped of any signifiers of status. Three carved lintels from this structure depict warriors subduing captives on specific dates in 780 and 787 ce, attesting to the historical nature of these events.The Pasion River sites of Dos Pilas, Aguateca and Cancuen contain abundant archaeological as well as epigraphic evidence of conquest and collapse. Dos Pilas was founded as an offshoot of the Tikal dynasty in 648 ce, even employing the same emblem glyph, yet fought a series of bitter wars against it with the aid of the Kaanul Snake kingdom, now based at Calakmul. Dos Pilas king B'ajlaj Chan K’awiil’s defeat of Tikal in 679 ce is commemorated on hieroglyphic stairway 2 with an unusually gruesome description: ‘the blood was pooled, and the skulls were piled into mountains'.[416] In fact, a mass grave of decapitated and modified skulls has been reported at the site,[417] and this likely consists of the remains of sacrificial victims captured during one of its military campaigns. The site was conquered and abandoned in 760 ce after which the royal family fled to Aguateca, the other twin capital of the Petexbatun kingdom.
The latter site only lasted until 800 ce, however. Aguateca exhibits considerable evidence of deliberate burning and destruction of elite structures inside of which was found abundant de facto refuse. Apparently, the attack was so sudden that many valuables were left behind, a rare archaeological finding akin to sites buried by sudden volcanic eruptions. Numerous lances and arrowheads that had broken due to impact were also recovered.[418] The site of Cancuen succumbed to attack at around the same time, possibly at the hands of former trade partners in the highlands just to the south. Evidence here comprises two mass graves containing the remains of fifty-five individuals, including its last king and queen, dumped unceremoniously in two palace cisterns, as well as the ritual termination and abandonment of the site.[419]At a time when many Maya sites in the central and southern lowlands were being depopulated, Chichen Itza in the northern lowlands was at the peak of its power. Warfare has long been seen as a particularly important tool for political control at this site, due in large part to the prominence of military themes in its art. Murals from the Upper and Lower Temples of the Jaguar depict large-scale battles at various settlements, including one in steep hilly country and another on the coast. In addition to traditional Maya weapons, in particular spears, numerous warriors brandish spear throwers and darts. Actual spear thrower dart shafts and points have been recovered from Chichen Itza's Sacred Cenote.[420] Chichen Itza has the earliest known tzom- pantli, or skull rack, in Mesoamerica. This structure has sculptures of impaled skulls covering its facade and is believed to have supported an actual skull rack. Evidence that it actually served this purpose comes in the form of six skulls recovered from the Sacred Cenote with large holes punched into the sides, which is the same technique observed in skulls that had been placed on later Aztec skull racks.[421] The skeletal remains of well over a hundred individuals have been recovered thus far from the Sacred Cenote, which continued to be a prominent pilgrimage site long after Chichen's collapse.
Studies of these remains found that they pertain to individuals of all ages and both sexes and exhibit cut marks due to dismemberment and defleshing likely associated with the post-mortem processing of sacrificial victims. The clearest evidence of a military offensive by this site comes from Yaxuna, a long-lived site only 18 kilometres to the south-west of Chichen. There is evidence of destruction at Yaxuna in the early Terminal Classic, after which the site is abandoned. Pottery of the Sotuta ceramic complex, which date to the Terminal Classic and are associated with Chichen, have only been found in a small rural reoccupation at Yaxuna.[422] Chichen may have ultimately succumbed by the middle of the eleventh century to the worst droughts of the last 2,000 years.[423]