Moroni lives in a world that is “one continual round of murder and bloodshed, and no one knoweth the end of the war.” These are the precise conditions that prevail in the Maya area for this time period. Art historian Simon Martin and archaeologist Nikolai Grube describe the extent of the Teotihuacanification of the region:
While Maya kingdoms traced their conceptual origins back into the vast expanse of mythical time, the foundations of ruling dynasties were given dates in the here and now. By charting these we can see that the dynastic tradition was initially slow to spread from the central Peten, but gained considerable impetus after the Mexican entrada of 378. A spurt of new foundations include those of Palenque, Copan and Quirigua (and the earliest date at Seibal) during Siyaj Cahn K’awiil II’s reign alone. These sites share either inscriptional or stylistic links with Teotihuacan or Tikal and seem to reflect a specific movement to exploit underdeveloped regions under their patronage.
The epigraphic record of the Classic Maya is rife with depictions of warfare. Indeed, “few themes are more obtrusive in Classic Maya inscriptions and art than war.” The epigraphic and archaeological record all support Moroni’s contention that “no one knoweth the end of the war.” (See Mormon Part 1: Context, Chapter 1, “Historical Background of the Book of Mormon.) Sadly, it was not just the wars that Moroni witnessed. It was a way of life and war that would continue in one form or another to the time of the Spanish conquest.