The Bioarchaeology Of Space And Place: Ideology, Power, And Meaning In Maya Mortuary Contexts Ideology, Power, And Meaning In Maya Mortuary Contexts

The Bioarchaeology Of Space And Place Investigates Variations In Social Identity Among The Ancient Maya By Focusing On Individuals And Small Groups Identified Archaeologically By Their Inclusion In Specific, Discrete Mortuary Contexts Or By Unusual Mortuary Treatments. Utilizing Archaeological, Biological, And Taphonomic Data From These Contexts, The Studies Employ A Variety Of Methodological Approaches To Reconstruct Aspects Of Individuals’ Life-course And Mortuary Pathways. Following This, Specific Mortuary Behaviors Are Discussed In Relation To Their Local Or Regional Cultural Setting Using Relevant Archaeological, Ethnohistoric, And/or Ethnographic Data In An Effort To Interpret Their Meaning Within The Broader Social, Political And Economic Contexts In Which They Were Carried Out. This Volume Covers A Number Of Topics That Are Currently Being Debated In Maya Archaeology, Including Identification And Discussion Of The Role And Extent Of Human Sacrifice In Maya Culture, The Use Of Ancestors For Maintaining Political Power, The Mortuary Use Of Caves By Both Elites And Non-elites, Ethnic Distinctions Within Urban Areas, And The Extent Of Movement Of People Between Communities. Importantly, The Papers In This Volume Attempt To Test And Move Beyond Static, Dichotic Categories That Are Often Employed In Mortuary Studies In An Effort To Better Understand The Complex Ways In Which The Maya Conceptualized And Manipulated Social Identity. This Type Of Nuanced Case-study Approach That Incorporates Historical, Archaeological, And Theoretical Contextualization Is Becoming Increasingly Important In The Field Of Bioarchaeology, Providing Valuable Sources Of Data Where Small, Diverse Samples Impede Populational Approaches.-- 1. Introduction / Gabriel D. Wrobel -- 2. Sedimenting Social Identity : The Practice Of Pre-columbian Maya Body Partibility / Pamela L. Geller -- 3. Cueva Del Lazo : Child Sacrifice Or Special Funerary Treatment? : Discussion Of A Late Classic Context From The Zoque Region Of Western Chiapas (mexico) / Davide Domenici -- 4. A Case Study Of Funerary Cave Use From Je'reftheel, Central Belize / Gabriel D. Wrobel, Christophe Helmke And Carolyn Freiwald -- 5. Isotopic Insights Into Mortuary Treatment And Origin At Xunantunich, Belize / Carolyn Freiwald, Jason Yaeger, Jaime Awe And Jennifer Piehl -- 6. Odontometric Investigation Of The Origin Of Freestanding Shrine Ossuaries At Mayapan / Stanley Serafin, Carlos Peraza Lope, Eunice Uc González And Pedro Delgado Kú -- 7. Human Dedicatory Burials From Altun Ha, Belize : Exploring Residential History Through Enamel Microwear And Tissue Isotopic Compositions / Karyn C. Olsen, Stephanie A. Cleland, Christine D. White And Fred J. Longstaffe -- 8. Danse Macabre : Death, Community, And Kingdom At El Kinel, Guatemala / Andrew K. Scherer, Charles Golden, Ana Lucía Arroyave And Griselda Pérez Robles -- 9. Mortuary Pathways And Ritual Meanings Related To Maya Human Bone Deposits In Subterranean Contexts / Andrea Cucina And Vera Tiesler -- 10. Mortuary Sealing Among The Maya / William N. Duncan. Gabriel D. Wrobel, Editor. Based On A Session At The Society For American Archaeology. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Acknowledgements 5 Contents 6 Contributors 8 About the Editor 10 Chapter 1 11 Introduction 11 1.1 Small, Biased Burial Samples and Bioarchaeology 12 1.2 Placing This Book in a Historical Context 16 1.3 The Contributions 17 1.4 Conclusion 20 References 21 Chapter 2 25 Sedimenting Social Identity: The Practice of Pre-Columbian Maya Body Partibility 25 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 Body Partibility: Meaning and Methods 26 2.3 Dos Hombres 29 2.4 The House-Sepulcher 30 2.5 Reassessing and Repositioning 38 2.6 Conclusion 42 References 43 Chapter 3 49 Cueva del Lazo: Child Sacrifice or Special Funerary Treatment? Discussion of a Late Classic Context from the Zoque Region of Western Chiapas (Mexico) 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 Cueva del Lazo: A Brief Description 51 3.3 Child Sacrifice in Mesoamerica: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Evidence 57 3.4 Why Children? 68 3.5 Discussion 71 References 76 Chapter 4 86 A Case Study of Funerary Cave Use from Je’reftheel, Central Belize 86 4.1 Introduction 86 4.2 Mortuary Cave Use in Ethnohistoric, Ethnographic, and Epigraphic Records 87 4.3 The Bioarchaeology of Maya Caves 90 4.4 Je’reftheel: Description of the Site and Its Regional Context 93 4.5 Interpreting the Context of Je’reftheel’s Mortuary Deposits 97 4.5.1 Anthropogenic Marks 97 4.5.2 Body Placement and Position 98 4.5.3 Sex and Age Profiles 101 4.5.4 Cultural Modifications 102 4.5.5 Biological Traits 103 4.5.6 Pathologies 103 4.5.7 Associated Material Culture 104 4.5.8 Isotopic Data 104 4.6 Discussion 107 4.7 Conclusions 109 References 110 Chapter 5 116 Isotopic Insights into Mortuary Treatment and Origin at Xunantunich, Belize 116 5.1 Introduction 116 5.2 Xunantunich and the Belize Valley 117 5.3 The Method and Theory of Using Isotopes to Understand Population Movement 121 5.4 Identifying Migrants 123 5.5 Case Study 125 5.6 Burial Treatment and Origin at Xunantunich 128 5.7 Group A Structure A-11 129 5.8 Structure A-4: A Mortuary Pyramid 132 5.9 Structure A-32: Range Structure on El Castillo 136 5.10 Elite Residential Groups B and D 136 5.11 Discussion 138 5.12 Origin and Burial Treatment in the Americas 138 5.13 Conclusion 140 References 142 Chapter 6 149 Odontometric Investigation of the Origin of Freestanding Shrine Ossuaries at Mayapan 149 6.1 Introduction 150 6.2 Cosmopolitanism at Mayapan 151 6.3 Freestanding Shrine Ossuaries 153 6.3.1 Materials 160 6.4 Methods 162 6.5 Results 165 6.6 Discussion 167 6.7 Conclusion 169 References 170 Chapter 7 176 Human Dedicatory Burials from Altun Ha, Belize: Exploring Residential History Through Enamel Microwear and Tissue Isotopic Compositions 176 7.1 Introduction 177 7.2 The Sample 181 7.3 Methods 184 7.3.1 Dental Microwear 184 7.3.2 Oxygen-Isotope Compositions 185 7.4 Results 188 7.4.1 Dental Microwear Data 188 7.4.2 Oxygen-Isotope Results 189 7.5 Discussion 191 7.5.1 Correlating Dietary Data 191 7.5.2 Intragroup Variability 192 7.5.3 Short-term Changes in Diet 193 7.5.4 Dedicatory Burials at Altun Ha 194 7.6 Conclusions 195 References 195 Chapter 8 200 Danse Macabre: Death, Community, and Kingdom at El Kinel, Guatemala 200 8.1 Introduction 200 8.2 The Kingdom of Yaxchilan 201 8.3 Beyond the Court: El Kinel, Guatemala 205 8.4 Mortuary Archaeology and Human Osteology at El Kinel 207 8.4.1 South Sector 207 8.4.2 North Sector 214 8.5 From Community to Kingdom 217 8.6 Conclusions 224 References 225 Chapter 9 232 Mortuary Pathways and Ritual Meanings Related to Maya Human Bone Deposits in Subterranean Contexts 232 9.1 Introduction 232 9.2 Potential and Limitations of the Study of Human Bone Deposits in Maya Caves 234 9.3 Cave Categories and their Meanings 237 9.4 Our Review of Human Cave Assemblages 238 9.5 Results 246 9.5.1 Taphonomy 246 9.5.2 Sex and Age Profiles 247 9.5.3 Artificial Head Shapes 250 9.5.4 Anthropogenic Marks 251 9.6 Discussion 252 9.7 Conclusions 255 References 256 Chapter 10 262 Mortuary Sealing Among the Maya 262 10.1 Introduction 262 10.2 Cyclical Time, Dedication, and Termination 263 10.3 Sealing, Wrapping, and Sacred Bundles 264 10.4 Uncoupling Sealing from Termination 270 10.4.1 Desecratory Termination with Sealing 270 10.4.2 Sealing in Reverential Termination 272 10.4.3 Termination Without Sealing 273 10.4.4 Sealing in the Absence of Termination in Mortuary Contexts 273 10.4.5 Defining the Relationship Between Sealing and Termination in Mortuary Contexts 274 10.5 Distinguishing Wrapping and Sealing 275 10.6 Conclusion 277 References 278 Index 284 Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-14 Sedimenting Social Identity: The Practice of Pre-Columbian Maya Body Partibility....Pages 15-38 Cueva del Lazo: Child Sacrifice or Special Funerary Treatment? Discussion of a Late Classic Context from the Zoque Region of Western Chiapas (Mexico)....Pages 39-75 A Case Study of Funerary Cave Use from Je’reftheel, Central Belize....Pages 77-106 Isotopic Insights into Mortuary Treatment and Origin at Xunantunich, Belize....Pages 107-139 Odontometric Investigation of the Origin of Freestanding Shrine Ossuaries at Mayapan....Pages 141-167 Human Dedicatory Burials from Altun Ha, Belize: Exploring Residential History Through Enamel Microwear and Tissue Isotopic Compositions....Pages 169-192 Danse Macabre: Death, Community, and Kingdom at El Kinel, Guatemala....Pages 193-224 Mortuary Pathways and Ritual Meanings Related to Maya Human Bone Deposits in Subterranean Contexts....Pages 225-254 Mortuary Sealing Among the Maya....Pages 255-276 Back Matter....Pages 277-292