Abstract :
The earthworks of Tikal have long been understood as the most extensive example of defensive architecture in the Maya Lowlands, with
the ditch and embankment seen as part of a system of defense anchoring the north and south territorial limits of Tikal to impassable bajos
on its flanks. New survey and excavation data suggest that the extent and course of the earthworks are not consistent with the demarcation
of the north and south limits of the polity, and that the morphology of the feature is not consistent with a well-conceived or finished
defensive construction. Here we present a hypothetical model of the earthworks as a limestone filtration trench that could have been used to
collect subsurface water to mitigate the effects of canicular drought or to support off-season agriculture.
