This study provides a synthetic review of the Terminal Classic
collapse of the Maya site of Colha, Belize, based on new data drawn from
recent lithic and osteological studies and previously reported
information. The well-known Colha skull pit has figured prominently in
previous hypotheses of the site's collapse, which focus on either
warfare or ritual termination. In this review, these two hypotheses are
reexamined using data from: (1) shifts in settlement patterns; (2)
transitions in lithic production; and (3) the death en masse of at least
55 individuals coincident with the site's abandonment. Based on the
evidence presented here, we argue that warfare precipitated Colha's
collapse. In light of Colha's role as a secondary site that
functioned primarily as a lithic-production locality, the Terminal Classic
destruction of the site illustrates the significance of material
motivations in Maya warfare and accents the diversity of collapse
processes in the Maya Lowlands.