Preclassic Maya Fortification at Muralla De León, Peten: Deducing Assets, Military Strategies, and Specific Threats Through Analysis of Defensive Systems

Abstract

In the absence of historical records, ethnography, or artistic depictions, fortifications provide one of the best forms of evidence for insight into the nature of warfare within past societies. Excavations into the monumental stone perimeter wall, 1.5 km in circumference, at Muralla de León in the Peten Lakes Region have dated its initial construction to the first two centuries of the Late Preclassic period (400–200 b.c.). Investigation into this apparent fortification offers new insight into Maya settlement and monumental construction in relation to warfare in this era, as sociopolitical complexity became increasingly widespread across the southern lowlands. Calculations of affordances of movement across the local landscape using geographic information systems and Circuitscape inform a spatial statistical analysis of fortification at Muralla de León, performed to test a hypothesis of defensive functionality for the encircling perimeter wall. A separate affordance of movement analysis at a regional scale locates the site within probable intersite paths of travel. The research indicates a significant, but not exclusive, defensive intent underpinning the Preclassic form of the main wall system. Thus, the system was built in part as a fortification, restricting movement toward the interior, while facilitating other uses such as hydraulic control and possibly trade.

Unleashing Maya Warfare: Inquiry Into the Practical Aspects of War-Making

“…Warfare as an impetus for the coalescence and dissolution of Mesoamerican societies has gained general acceptance within the scholarly community. The relationship between war and the origins of states in the Maya area remains up for debate, though current work is uncovering increasing evidence of Late Preclassic fortifications and potential evidence of warfare in the Middle Preclassic (Bey and Gallareta Negrón 2019; Bracken 2023; Brown and Garber 2003; Estrada-Belli 2011; Inomata 2014). Contextualizing these findings requires comparison with insights from Mesoamerica more broadly.…”

“…Sculptures formed the literal embodiment of captives and communicated the central role of elite bodies in the maintenance of the status quo. Extending the concept of embodiment, Bracken (2023) and Hernandez (2023) individually examine how interactions with landscape shaped social life via the task of preparing for war. Bracken pairs geospatial analysis to understand how martial architecture is shaped by martial concerns and how these constructions in turn shape how people move within a community.…”

Cultural Dimensions of Warfare in the Maya World

“…The Late Preclassic and Terminal Classic periods might have experienced intensification of warfare, as indicated by an increase in the instances of fortified settlements, though earlier practices may be obscured by later occupation phases (see Bracken 2023). Inomata and Triadan (2009:73) observe remarkable Late Preclassic sociopolitical transformations, marked by various activities such as the construction of enormous temple-pyramids (at centers like El Mirador), growing habitation in large settlements with monumentality, participating and witnessing mass spectacles of rituals in these places, and the growing power of rulers and priestly figures.…”