History Made Every Day™

MAYA: Maya Armageddon

Maya warriors.

Location: Southern region of Mexico and northern region of Central America

Major Battle: Cancuen, circa 800 A.D. Unknown invaders attacked the Maya trade center Cancuen and massacred the royal family. The bloody battle represented a shift in Maya warfare, which was previously about sacrifice and conquest, to annihilation. Some historians believe the battle contributed to the mysterious downfall and disappearance of this powerful pre-Columbian warrior society.

Who They Were: During the first millennium, while Europe was deep in the Dark Ages, the Maya civilization flourished, with the construction of vast cities and great achievements in art, architecture, astronomy and written language. The Maya also had a warrior culture, which evolved over time. Initially, the Maya fought in small groups for the purpose of capturing prisoners to be used as human sacrifices to the gods. The Maya's preferred form of sacrifice was to decapitate their victims. Later, the purpose of Maya warfare shifted to conquest, with one city-state fighting another for territory and power. However, even as Maya wars became broader and more brutal, the capture and sacrifice of prisoners remained a key part of the culture. Some prisoners were forced to help build hieroglyphic staircases on temples, but once the job was done, they'd be sacrificed, their bodies tied in bundles and thrown down the steps they'd constructed.

When it came to weapons, the Maya were a stone-age culture and had no metal-working technology. Their arsenal included stone axes, wooden clubs, atlatls (dart-throwers), spears and lances with obsidian blades. They also used shields made of wood and hide and for added protection wore short vests or jackets made of quilted cotton.

Between the 8th and 9th centuries, Maya society went into decline and many of the great cities were abandoned, due to reasons that are not entirely clear. Foreign invasion might have played a role, along with long-term drought, depletion of natural resources and other events. However, the Maya continued to thrive for centuries in some regions, particularly the Yucatan, until the Spanish assumed control.

Did You Know:

• Maya kings would look to the stars for guidance about when to go to war.

• Populations of Maya exist today in parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.