Landscapes of Warfare, Détente, and Trade in the Maya West

Abstract

In chapter 11, Charles Golden and Andrew Scherer discuss how the political and economic landscapes in the western lowlands impacted the monumental landscape of the Late and Terminal Classic periods along the Usumacinta River. These landscapes shaped, and were shaped by, dynastic power struggles between the kingdoms of Palenque, Piedras Negras, Tonina, and Yaxchilan, and impacted the function and flow of goods and people across the region. Drawing on epigraphic research, excavation results, ground survey, and remotely sensed data gathered during 15 field seasons of regional survey, the authors emphasize the movement of people and goods; movement was affected by friction resulting from the physicality and political dynamics of the landscape. It was this friction—and attempts to increase or reduce it through warfare and marriage alliances—that shaped travel and trade during the Classic period and, in turn, was crafted in stone at Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan. For the authors, the representations of lords and ladies, allies and captives, carved on lintels, stairs, and stelae at Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan are truly monumental landscapes.