With small, primarily elite, armies raiding remained the dominant mode of warfare in the Late Classic, a situation reflected in Maya artistic representations of named individual, noble warriors rather than generalized groups of warriors, clearly documenting the growth of powerful leaders as conquerors. However, battles did take place between cities that were as much as eighty kilometers apart. A wider array of arms and armor was used by the Late Classic Maya elite, elaborating on those of the Early Classic and increasing the number and types of weapons employed, suggesting the continued absence of centralized control and still reflecting a warrior class whose members owned their own armaments. The primary exception to this was at Piedras Negras, which appears to have organized a conventional army more in the central Mexican mold, although they did not adopt Mexican weapons. This probably did not reflect a major social change—the soldiers were nobles, judging from their attire—but it was a major military change, giving Piedras Negras a significant tactical advantage that may account for its rise and probable conquest of Yaxchilan. However, Piedras Negras remained only a regional center, and this military innovation was apparently not widely copied.

Soldiers’ attire may have been protective, but the cotton armor common in the Mexican highlands was rare in the Maya lowlands. For example, in the Bonampak mural battle scene, some warriors are depicted wearing jaguarskin tunics; others wear capes, and still others wear nothing on their upper bodies. Noe wear armor. Helmets, though occasionally depicted, also were are. They may have offered some protection, but most Maya warriors did not war them. However, the elaborate military garb does suggest the presence of military orders. Shields were common, although so few are depicted in works of art that predate the Late Classic that it is uncertain whether these were an indigenous development or an adoption from Teotihuacan. The Maya employed two basic types. Small, rigid shields were used that would not snag easily on the march in dense, vegetation, and some of these circular shields, or bucklers, seem to have been made of tortoise shells, which may have been the basis of others constructed of different material, most likely leather. These were typically held on the left forearm by a central strap, although some shields had a second strap held in the left hand. These shields offered little passive defense but because of their solid construction, they would parry blows effectively. A second and widely used type of shield was flexible—the only certain Maya shield innovation—and apparently made of quilted cotton on the exterior and a leather backing on the interior, without feather fringes. Lacking a rigid structure, these shields were held by a strap attached to the top and were allowed to hang. This flexibility was a tradeoff between portability and protection, permitting the shields to be furled for easy carrying yet providing adequate shielding against all but major blows. A third type of shield was a rigid rectangle that may have been made of a variety of materials including wood, leather, cotton, and woven reeds. This shields was a Mexican introduction, and its size and rigidity would have made it difficult to carry through dense vegetation. When they are found, such shields are associated with Mexican weapons, gods, and iconography , and were probably symbols of power rather than functional armor.