“The Epistimology of Apocalypse: The Teotihuacan-Maya Battle on Tigre Pyramid, El Mirador”
Dr. Richard Hansen
This Zoom call was held March 23, 2026 at 8pm.
I believe this talk is one of three talks Richard has ready to give. Therefore, the information may already be known, but it was new to me.
SUMMARY: The main point of the lecture was that Richard and his team found evidence of a battle on the top of El Tigre Pyramid. This took place after El Mirador had gone into decline, slightly before the Entrada. Evidence suggests there were about one hundred people living in the ruins of El Mirador. They were attacked by people with Central Mexican weapons. This is evident by the fact that obsidian arrow points Teotihuacan style were found over the Upper Platform and the three pyramids at the top of ElTigre. The obsidian came from sources in the Central Mexican Valley. There were also arrow points of Mayan style made from chert. There is also evidence that the people defending themselves took to the three pyramids and hurled stones down on their attackers. These came from dismantling the tops of the pyramids.
So it seems that Central Mexicans (Teotihuacanos?) attacked Mayans living in the ruins of El Mirador. The evidence of this is that the arrow points were found on top of dirt that was on the pyramid.
Whoever attacked did not stay and there is evidence that the bodies were left where they fell.
Richard’s conclusions were that the small band living at El Mirador might have been what was left of a royal family and perhaps the Teotihuacanos were in the service of Tikal and killed the people in El Mirador to ensure that they would not reformulate and be a problem for Tikal.
My Thoughts:
This is evidence of Teotihuacan influence in the Tikal area before the Entrada. Could it be that Tikal employed a mercenary Teo force?
History has examples of people being hired as mercenaries who then take over replacing the people they were hired to protect. The Aztecs are one example. The Mafia is another. They were originally hired to protect the lemons in Sicily from theft.
The talk is recorded and when I get a link I will share it.
Other points of interest:
The Mirador Basin sits atop a raised area with a depression in the central area (ie a basin). Richard has identified 962 villages within the Basin. They are all connected via roads. None of these roads extended outside the basin.
Some of the arrow points have evidence of human remains and samples are being tested for DNA.
Richard shared some photos of the set of Apocalypto.
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