The kingdom of the Itza is the…

The kingdom of the Itza is the most powerful polity in the Petén lowlands of northern Guatemala, centered on their capital Nojpetén, on an island in Lake Petén Itzá.

The second polity in importance is that of their hostile neighbors, the Kowoj.

The Kowoj are located to the east of the Itza, around the eastern lakes: Lake Salpetén, Lake Macanché, Lake Yaxhá and Lake Sacnab.

Other groups are less well known and their precise territorial extent and political makeup remains obscure; among them are the Chinamita, the Kejache, the Icaiche, the Lakandon Ch'ol, the Mopan, the Manche Ch'ol and the Yalain.

The Kejache occupy an area north of the lake on the route to Campeche, while the Mopan and the Chinamita have their polities in the southeastern Petén The Manche territory is to the southwest of the Mopan.

The Yalain have their territory immediately to the east of Lake Petén Itzá.

Maya warfare is not so much aimed at destruction of the enemy as the seizure of captives and plunder.

The Spanish describe the weapons of war of the Petén Maya as bows and arrows, fire-sharpened poles, flint-headed spears and two-handed swords crafted from strong wood with the blade fashioned from inset obsidian, similar to the Aztec macuahuitl.

Pedro de Alvarado will describe how the Xinca of the Pacific coast attack the Spanish with spears, stakes and poisoned arrows.

Maya warriors wear body armor in the form of quilted cotton that has been soaked in salt water to toughen it; the resulting armor compares favorably to the steel armor worn by the Spanish.

The Maya have historically employed ambush and raiding as their preferred tactic, and its employment against the Spanish will prove troublesome for the Europeans.

In response to the use of cavalry, the highland Maya will take to digging pits on the roads, lining them with fire-hardened stakes and camouflaging them with grass and weeds, a tactic that according to the Kaqchikel kills many horses.