New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology)

Human sacrifice among the ancient Maya is a topic of widespread interest. It has triggered awe and romanticism in the general public, which often leads to unfounded myths misjudgments. This book dispels those myths by bringing together an international group of both well-established scholars and accredited young experts in the field to provide a fresh, objective look at ritual violence in the Mayan realm from an academic perspective. These experts offer examine new evidence of of human sacrifice in Classic and Postclassic period sites like Calakmul and the Sacred Cenote of Chichen Itz, as well as cave contexts from Belize. The contributions analyze meanings, agents, occasions, and sacrificial procedures, along with post-sacrificial body processing. They address questions about the recognition and interpretation of ancient Mayan sacrificial behavior with a multidisciplinary approach. Generalized issues of provenance and the social and health status of sacrificial victims are presented, as well as a joint discussion that gives the work an updated, Continental scope. This will be of interest to students studying Mayan and Mesoamerican culture as well as those interested in bioarchaeology and human sacrifice. Front Matter....Pages i-x New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Postsacrificial Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society: An Introduction....Pages 1-13 Funerary or Nonfunerary? New References in Identifying Ancient Maya Sacrificial and Postsacrificial Behaviors from Human Assemblages....Pages 14-44 The Creation and Sacrifice of Witches in Classic Maya Society....Pages 45-73 Empowered and Disempowered During the Late to Terminal Classic Transition: Maya Burial and Termination Rituals in the Sibun Valley, Belize....Pages 74-101 Posthumous Body Treatments and Ritual Meaning in the Classic Period Northern Petén: A Taphonomic Approach....Pages 102-119 Human Sacrifice in Late Postclassic Maya Iconography and Texts....Pages 120-164 Skeletons, Skulls, and Bones in the Art of Chichén Itzá....Pages 165-189 Sacrifice and Ritual Body Mutilation in Postclassical Maya Society: Taphonomy of the Human Remains from Chichén Itzá's Cenote Sagrado....Pages 190-208 Sacred Spaces and Human Funerary and Nonfunerary Placements in Champotón, Campeche, During the Postclassic Period....Pages 209-231 Human Sacrificial Rites Among the Maya of Mayapán: A Bioarchaeological Perspective....Pages 232-250 Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Social Status of Skeletal Remains from Nonfunerary and “Problematical” Contexts....Pages 251-262 Victims of Sacrifice: Isotopic Evidence for Place of Origin....Pages 263-292 The Bioarchaeology of Maya Sacrifice....Pages 293-307 Back Matter....Pages 309-319 The central goal of this book is to contribute to the timely discussion and understanding of Maya sacrifice and related posthumous body manipulation. Most school children in the US learn about the Maya and their practices based on their cultural and religious beliefs in their Social Studies classes. But a number of new sites have been discovered, giving an interdisciplinary group of researchers a channel to discuss these acts and their meaning. The editors bring together not only archaeologists but anthropologists, forensic anthropologists, art historians and bioarchaeologists, giving the volume a more complete perspective on these sites and the material culture and biological evidence found there. The field of archaeology is growing to include the physical remains of ritual practice along with the material remains and this book can be seen as an example of who the study of ancient civilizations can be more comprehensive. Additionally, this is an international volume with scholars from the area studied which is becoming more and more important in archaeological research. This will be of interest to students studying Mayan and Mesoamerican culture as well as those interested in bioarchaeology and human sacrifice. The central goal of this book is to contribute to the timely discussion and understanding of Maya sacrifice and related posthumous body manipulation. Most school children in the US learn about the Maya and their practices based on their cultural and religious beliefs in their Social Studies classes. But a number of new sites have been discovered, giving an interdisciplinary group of researchers a channel to discuss these acts and their meaning. The editors bring together not only archaeologists but anthropologists, forensic anthropologists, art historians and bioarchaeologists, giving the volume a more complete perspective on these sites and the material culture and biological evidence found there. The field of archaeology is growing to include the physical remains of ritual practice along with the material remains and this book can be seen as an example of who the study of ancient civilizations can be more comprehensive. Additionally, this is an international volume with scholars from the area studied which is becoming more and more important in archaeological research.--Publisher description This book examines Maya sacrifice and related posthumous body manipulation. The editors bring together an international group of contributors from the area studied: archaeologists as well as anthropologists, forensic anthropologists, art historians and bioarchaeologists. This interdisciplinary approach provides a comprehensive perspective on these sites as well as the material culture and biological evidence found there