Archaeology Lecture: Mystery of a Maya Kingdom

Warfare, water, and the Great Earthwork of Tikal, Guatemala: Mystery of a Maya Kingdom

Jay Silverstein, PhD, Forensic Archaeologist, JPAC/Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, UH

Throughout much of the 20th century, archaeologists portrayed Classic Maya civilization as an idealistic and peaceful confederation of astronomer kings. Eventually the growing evidence of warfare shattered this paradigm. In the 1960s a massive earthwork was discovered in the hinterlands of the great Maya acropolis of Tikal. For decades it has been assumed that these earthworks were city walls defending Tikal, although few archaeologists had ever actually seen them. Our recent research debunks this interpretation and shows that the earthwork did not play a significant defensive role. The reason for the Maya construction of over 20 kilometers of earthwork remains a mystery. The theory presented here proposes that they were hydraulic constructions built to take advantage of the particular character of the karst limestone hydrology so that the Maya of Tikal could mitigate the risks of the canicula (seasonal droughts) that threatened the kingdom-sustaining maize crops.

Ticket Information
free

Event Sponsor
LLEA/Archaeological Institute of America

More Information
Robert Littman, 956-4173, littman@hawaii.edu, http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/AIA/

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