The Investigation of Classic Period Maya Warfare at Caracol, Belice

Prior to the 1950s the prevalent view of the ancient Maya was as a peaceful people. ln 1952, Robert Rands completed his Ph. D. thesis on the evidences of warfare in Classic Maya art, following up on the important work just completed by Tatia-na Proskouriakoff (1950). Since then, research has rapidly accumulated substantial documentation that the Maya were in fact warlike (cf. Marcus 1974; Repetto Tio 1985). There is now evidence for the existence of wars between major political units in the Maya area and, importantly, Maya kingship has also been shown to be inextricably joined with concepts of war, captives, and sacrifice (Demarest 1978; Schele and Miller 1986; Freidel 1986). Warfare also has been utilized as a powerful explanatory tool for several epochs of Maya prehistory such as in the «rise» and «fall» of Classie Research on Maya warfare has focused on indications found in art, interpretations of hiero-glyphic texts, excavation of fortified sites, and analysis of documentary materials. While warfare is now an accepted aspect of Maya culture, there is still difference of opinion concerning the nature of Maya warfare and the effects that war had on the aggressor, the defender, and Maya society as a whole. lt is particularly unclear just how much impact warfare had on the non-elite. There are those (Webster 1976, 1977) who believe that Classic Period Maya warfare played a significant role in the development of cultural and political complexity; others (Adams 1977: 153; Freidel 1986: 107), however, suggest that Maya warfare was primarily an elite activity that was not genera-Ily disruptive to the social order. Caracol is a key archaeological site from which to attempt to determine the nature and effects of Classic Period Maya warfare. The archaeological site of Caracol, Belize is one of the largest in the Maya lowlands (A. Chase and D. Chase 1987a, 1987b); the population of its political unit lived in an area at least 365 square kilometers. Caracol parallels other Maya sites in having a series of warlike rulers who were concerned whith preserving their histories in hieroglyphic texts on stone and stucco; investigations at the site have thus far uncovered some 40 carved monuments (Beetz and Satterthwaite 1981; A. Chase and D. Chase 1987b). Caracol is unusual, however, in having left us written records that it successfully waged warfare against two of its neighboring polities at different times within the early part of the Late …