he Best Offense Is a Good Defense: Monumental Defensive Works at La Cuernavilla

Summary

This is an abstract from the "La Cuernavilla, Guatemala: A Maya Fortress and Its Environs" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The ancient Maya center La Cuernavilla is well known for its defensive features and its role as a fortress located between the Classic Maya cities of Tikal and El Zotz in the Buenavista Valley of modern-day Guatemala. Excavations of the defensive features as well as the analysis of the artifacts collected during excavations help elucidate the function of these walls and platforms. A series of defensive systems were constructed to protect the inhabitants of La Cuernavilla of any possible incursion and/or siege made by groups, especially those coming from the west and north. The excavations revealed coarse architecture, modifications in the bedrock, and material culture including broken vessels, lithic weapons, and charcoal samples. These data indicate a continuous occupation of La Cuernavilla throughout the Early Classic (250–600 CE) and eventual abandonment in the Late Classic by 800 CE. It seems that the ancient Maya rapidly built this fortress during a period of political tensions and conflicts in the Buenavista Valley. This research contributes to the study of warfare and violence theory, providing a wider perspective of ancient human relationships and behaviors and insights to how contemporary conflicts occur.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• La Cuernavilla, Guatemala: A Maya Fortress and Its Environs   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37114.0