Bruce Dahlin discusses the evidence for wars of annihilation in 10 fortified sites in the northwestern Yucatan plains.

Date
Sep 2000
Type
Academic / Technical Report
Source
Bruce Dahlin
Non-LDS
Hearsay
Direct
Reference

Bruce Dahlin, “The Barricade and Abandonment of Chunchucmil: Implications for Northern Maya Warfare,” Latin American Antiquity 11, no. 3 (September 2000): 283-298

Scribe/Publisher
Latin American Antiquity
People
Bruce Dahlin
Audience
Reading Public
Transcription

A long low mound of rubble incompletely surrounds part of the central zone at the Classic Period site of Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico. This wall was hastily built from stone robbed from nearby buildings and roadbeds and it clearly served as a defensive barricade. All indications are that the barricade represents a one-time event whereupon the site was attacked, overrun, and abandoned. Re-analysis of other known fortified sites across Yucatan"s northern plains show some fundamental similarities. I suggest that all sites with barricades still standing suffered wars of annihilation rather than wars of conquest and subjugation by the victors. I suggest that the Chunchucmil distribution node was annihilated because its proximity to consumption centers in nuclear Mesoamerica reduced the competitiveness of other Yucatecan coastal trade sites that were located further away along the Gulf Coast maritime trade route.

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