Moral-Reforma: a strategic settlement on the banks of the San Pedro Martir

Abstract

As a result of a comprehensive reconnaissance of the surface of Moral Reform and preparation of a topographic map of the core area drawn in the 2006 season, this article offers a more complete description of this important Maya site occupied between AD 200 and 1000. It includes a preliminary discussion of the configuration of its urban layout, the characteristics of its buildings, their condition, techniques and materials and architectural attributes that relate to the Petén region. Finally, a hypothesis is presented on the role played by Moral Reform as a strategic enclave on the banks of the San Pedro River, which in pre-Hispanic times was one of the main routes of communication and trade between the Petén and the Gulf Coast of Mexico.