For Conquest or Defense? the Fortresses and Fortified Centers of Mesoamerica

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "For Conquest or Defense? the Fortresses and Fortified Centers of Mesoamerica" at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Fortified centers, fortresses, and citadels are found throughout Mesoamerica from the Preclassic period into the Conquest. The form of these sites varies greatly. Some are protected by walls, moats, and towers, others by steep natural topographic and geological features of the environment. These sites are sometimes interconnected with auxiliary surveillance systems that could carry information to other towns or cities. Teasing out the history of such places can be difficult, particularly when most locations contain few, to no, written words. Were they defensive? Or were they instruments of domination? Who did they protect? The local population? Colonizers? Were these places refuges? In this session participants explore a range of sites from Mesoamerican cultures including the Maya, Nahuatls, Teotihuacanos, and Zapotecs. Scholars will discuss the archaeological evidence from these sites, employing a range of analyses including lidar, lithics, ceramics, and codices, to determine the role each of these fortified sites likely played in the machinations of rulers, commoners and invaders.