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The Dissertation Committee for Micaela Nerio Obledo Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: PRECLASSIC MAYA FUNERARY PATTERNS IN NORTHERN BELIZE: AN ANALYSIS OF INTERMENT ATTRIBUTES FROM COLHA, CUELLO, AND K’AXOB Committee: Fred Valdez, Jr., Supervisor Samuel M. Wilson Enrique Rodriguez‐Alegria Julia Guernsey Palma J. Buttles
PRECLASSIC MAYA FUNERARY PATTERNS IN NORTHERN BELIZE: AN ANALYSIS OF INTERMENT ATTRIBUTES FROM COLHA, CUELLO, AND K’AXOB by Micaela Nerio Obledo, B.A; M.A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2011
Page 1: Copyright by Micaela Nerio Obledo 2
Page 5 and 6: Acknowledgements This dissertation
Page 7 and 8: Aunjuneé Saldivar is one of my old
Page 9 and 10: PRECLASSIC MAYA FUNERARY PATTERNS I
Page 11 and 12: Table of Contents List of Tables ..
Page 13 and 14: Methodology and Research Questions.
Page 15 and 16: INTERMENTS WITH ARTIFACTS OF VARYIN
Page 17 and 18: Cuello.............................
Page 19 and 20: Cuello.............................
Page 21 and 22: K’axob...........................
Page 23 and 24: Colha .............................
Page 25 and 26: Colha .............................
Page 27 and 28: Methodology List of Tables Table 4.
Page 29 and 30: Table 5.19: Interments Exhibiting E
Page 31 and 32: Table 6.20: Interments with a Cross
Page 33 and 34: Table 7.17: Number of Interments wi
Page 35 and 36: Table 8.13: Interments with Artifac
Page 37 and 38: Figure 7.6: Terminal Preclassic ear
Page 39 and 40: CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This disser
Page 41 and 42: Both local and exotic materials as
Page 43 and 44: This will be accomplished through t
Page 45 and 46: endless possible permutations of th
Page 47 and 48: CHAPTER 2: ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING An
Page 49 and 50: ecome crested by thick deposits of
Page 51 and 52: northern area. The central lowlands
Page 53 and 54:
anks of its rivers. The principal d
Page 55 and 56:
Within the central lowlands exists
Page 57 and 58:
transition from tall dense forests
Page 59 and 60:
peninsula. Nodules as large as one
Page 61 and 62:
CHAPTER 3: PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Page 63 and 64:
Figure 3.1: Site map of Colha (adap
Page 65 and 66:
esult of the first season’s effor
Page 67 and 68:
The 1983 season focused on gaining
Page 69 and 70:
Middle Preclassic 900 B.C. - 400 B.
Page 71 and 72:
manufacture exists in the form of b
Page 73 and 74:
produced at Colha. Obsidian is foun
Page 75 and 76:
2012. As Potter (1994) indicates, t
Page 77 and 78:
Figure 3.3: Site map of Cuello (ada
Page 79 and 80:
final construction phase dating to
Page 81 and 82:
work. Wilk and Wilhite (1991: 237)
Page 83 and 84:
suggest that kin groups established
Page 85 and 86:
Figure 3.4: Site map of K’axob (a
Page 87 and 88:
Facet K’atabche’k’ax [Late Pr
Page 89 and 90:
placed to embed the significance of
Page 91 and 92:
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH STRUCTURE: METH
Page 93 and 94:
Table 4.2: Colha Age Categories (af
Page 95 and 96:
Table 4.5: Age Categories of the Pr
Page 97 and 98:
Table 4.6: Grave Good Material Cate
Page 99 and 100:
Table 4.7, continued BEAD CELT CORE
Page 101 and 102:
Table 4.7, continued FAN HANDLE FIG
Page 103 and 104:
list and brief explanation of the f
Page 105 and 106:
Table 4.8, continued Hematite (Grou
Page 107 and 108:
Table 4.8, continued UNMODIFIED BON
Page 109 and 110:
Table 4.8, continued UNMODIFIED SHE
Page 111 and 112:
Buttles (2002 citing Hayden 1998: 1
Page 113 and 114:
Those animals that have been classi
Page 115 and 116:
is assigned. If no evidence of pigm
Page 117 and 118:
The Humboldt Celt, on which the abo
Page 119 and 120:
Cuello Table 4.10: Cuello Architect
Page 121 and 122:
Colha Table 4.13: Colha Architectur
Page 123 and 124:
Locational Details: All interment l
Page 125 and 126:
artifact characteristic and how man
Page 127 and 128:
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS [Provides inf
Page 129 and 130:
In line with the approach taken by
Page 131 and 132:
together via displays of success”
Page 133 and 134:
as the “principle of first occupa
Page 135 and 136:
these interments were placed in an
Page 137 and 138:
devoted to an interpretation of the
Page 139 and 140:
As will be discussed more fully in
Page 141 and 142:
sexed males and females from Colha,
Page 143 and 144:
and possible males round out the la
Page 145 and 146:
CUELLO At Cuello, a total of 20 ind
Page 147 and 148:
often. No males were found in disar
Page 149 and 150:
CUELLO At Cuello during the Middle
Page 151 and 152:
COLHA At Colha during the Middle Pr
Page 153 and 154:
individuals did not have any crania
Page 155 and 156:
K’AXOB One third of interments at
Page 157 and 158:
interments without goods each accou
Page 159 and 160:
materials, including prestige mater
Page 161 and 162:
Scholars such as Adams (1991), Hamm
Page 163 and 164:
with no grave goods at all almost a
Page 165 and 166:
Frequency Table (% of Row) Based on
Page 167 and 168:
Figure 5.1: Disk shell beads recove
Page 169 and 170:
1992; Dreiss 1982, 1994; Feldman 19
Page 171 and 172:
to indeterminates, with the remaind
Page 173 and 174:
economic or ideological worth at Co
Page 175 and 176:
They are, however, accompanied by g
Page 177 and 178:
Both jade and other varieties of gr
Page 179 and 180:
adornment in female graves may indi
Page 181 and 182:
included at the site at this time.
Page 183 and 184:
16.67% of interments. Chalcedony, n
Page 185 and 186:
class and its derivative products,
Page 187 and 188:
were not afforded the social privil
Page 189 and 190:
except for items manufactured from
Page 191 and 192:
Overall Overall, males are accompan
Page 193 and 194:
is also dominated by shell (45.74%)
Page 195 and 196:
COLHA Frequency Table (% of Column)
Page 197 and 198:
Overall Overall, Adults are interre
Page 199 and 200:
Quantitative Table (% of Row) Adult
Page 201 and 202:
Frequency Table (% of Row) Only adu
Page 203 and 204:
greenstone (jade) included with fem
Page 205 and 206:
Frequency Table (% of Row) Analyzin
Page 207 and 208:
forms of jade found with definitive
Page 209 and 210:
artifact forms except for items suc
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
modified human bone). Males are acc
Page 215 and 216:
CUELLO Frequency Table (% of Column
Page 217 and 218:
quantities of all other artifact fo
Page 219 and 220:
K’AXOB Frequency Table (% of Colu
Page 221 and 222:
Colha chert, chalcedony and non‐N
Page 223 and 224:
or pollen” (McAnany and Peterson
Page 225 and 226:
Quantitative Table (% of Column) Th
Page 227 and 228:
these individuals, while the most f
Page 229 and 230:
Quantitative Table (% of Row) Adult
Page 231 and 232:
are exclusive to Subadult interment
Page 233 and 234:
eing NB Colha chert. Unmodified fau
Page 235 and 236:
often (57.58%) interred with goods
Page 237 and 238:
female interments were without good
Page 239 and 240:
oth Cuello and Colha where adult ma
Page 241 and 242:
indicating that long distance trade
Page 243 and 244:
of this resource is seen. Clearly C
Page 245 and 246:
CUELLO Nine instances of the placem
Page 247 and 248:
while 83.33% of subadult interments
Page 249 and 250:
groundstone, 1 grinding tool), cera
Page 251 and 252:
epresent 24.32% of these occurrence
Page 253 and 254:
a c Figure 5.3: Examples of both ra
Page 255 and 256:
CUELLO During the Middle Preclassic
Page 257 and 258:
CUELLO At Cuello, 42.86% of all occ
Page 259 and 260:
(possibly public) ceremonial functi
Page 261 and 262:
CUELLO Only two interments contexts
Page 263 and 264:
Unique Count Sex Time Period Site I
Page 265 and 266:
Time Period Site Position Category
Page 267 and 268:
Time Period Site Cranial Orientatio
Page 269 and 270:
Time Period Site Material Adult Ind
Page 271 and 272:
Time Period Site Material Form Adul
Page 273 and 274:
Table 5.12: Interments with Artifac
Page 275 and 276:
Table 5.14: Numbers of Artifacts of
Page 277 and 278:
Table 5.16: Number of Interments wi
Page 279 and 280:
Interments Exhibiting Evidenceof Bu
Page 281 and 282:
o f Red Mineral Pigmentation Table
Page 283 and 284:
Time Period Site Architectural Spac
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
in interred individuals points to t
Page 289 and 290:
of males at Cuello are still very m
Page 291 and 292:
prevalence of males still indicates
Page 293 and 294:
power (Harrison‐Buck 2004: 84). T
Page 295 and 296:
K’AXOB Only extended, flexed and
Page 297 and 298:
CUELLO Nearly half (45.45%) the adu
Page 299 and 300:
Males are discovered with no crania
Page 301 and 302:
orientation. Equal numbers of males
Page 303 and 304:
COLHA Colha Late Preclassic adults
Page 305 and 306:
COUNT OF ARTIFACTS BY MATERIAL TYPE
Page 307 and 308:
31.03% and 12.07% of male interment
Page 309 and 310:
as greenstones and obsidian specifi
Page 311 and 312:
thrice as frequently with males as
Page 313 and 314:
male interments, the new prestige g
Page 315 and 316:
interments. Definitively sexed male
Page 317 and 318:
of the artifact material classes fo
Page 319 and 320:
provides clues as to the continued
Page 321 and 322:
The above analysis considered only
Page 323 and 324:
Page 325 and 326:
(47.06%), with high numbers of shel
Page 327 and 328:
networks that would have access to
Page 329 and 330:
Males and females are found with ve
Page 331 and 332:
of the inclusions of jade artifacts
Page 333 and 334:
items are found with 11.71% of dece
Page 335 and 336:
items, which are found in higher nu
Page 337 and 338:
individuals follows this pattern, w
Page 339 and 340:
within subadult interments as withi
Page 341 and 342:
such as obsidian, jade, and mineral
Page 343 and 344:
that adults were more frequently in
Page 345 and 346:
frequently and in higher numbers wi
Page 347 and 348:
Quantitative Table (% of Row) Analy
Page 349 and 350:
classes are those that strictly occ
Page 351 and 352:
Figure 6.6: Raw jade (jadeite) (ada
Page 353 and 354:
Page 355 and 356:
eads and gorgets, ceramic disks, un
Page 357 and 358:
Quantitative Table (% of Column) Th
Page 359 and 360:
Overall Overall, complete ceramic v
Page 361 and 362:
with males, although a singular ins
Page 363 and 364:
Quantitative Table (% of Row) Males
Page 365 and 366:
COUNT OF ARTIFACTS BY MATERIAL TYPE
Page 367 and 368:
goods with adults corroborates the
Page 369 and 370:
Page 371 and 372:
in this age category (85.21%). Over
Page 373 and 374:
while ceramic vessel fragments are
Page 375 and 376:
chalcedony modified lithics (12.09%
Page 377 and 378:
Overall Overall, subadult interment
Page 379 and 380:
INTERMENTS WITH ARTIFACTS OF VARYIN
Page 381 and 382:
Interestingly, interments containin
Page 383 and 384:
with no funerary assemblage. Betwee
Page 385 and 386:
time. No adult interments are found
Page 387 and 388:
varieties including beads (4.14%),
Page 389 and 390:
more often than prestige goods. Of
Page 391 and 392:
shell adornments (3.45%), pubic shi
Page 393 and 394:
(14.76%), non‐NB Colha chert (9.0
Page 395 and 396:
CUELLO There are 35 individuals int
Page 397 and 398:
All three of these individuals are
Page 399 and 400:
INTERMENTS EXHIBITING EVIDENCE OF B
Page 401 and 402:
CUELLO As during the Middle Preclas
Page 403 and 404:
modified lithics, cutting tools and
Page 405 and 406:
adults. The majority of adult inter
Page 407 and 408:
well as instances of the pigments t
Page 409 and 410:
Whereas 37.60% of Late Preclassic i
Page 411 and 412:
time period. Adults are approximate
Page 413 and 414:
four times more often. No females a
Page 415 and 416:
Page 417 and 418:
Page 419 and 420:
Page 421 and 422:
Page 423 and 424:
Page 425 and 426:
Page 427 and 428:
Time Period Site Function Function
Page 429 and 430:
Page 431 and 432:
Table 6.19: Interments with a Cross
Page 433 and 434:
Time Period Site Cross Motif Materi
Page 435 and 436:
Table 6.26: Total Number of Burned
Page 437 and 438:
Table 6.30: Total Number of Pigment
Page 439 and 440:
Page 441 and 442:
CHAPTER 7: TERMINAL PRECLASSIC COUN
Page 443 and 444:
COUNT OF INDIVIDUALS BY AGE (Table
Page 445 and 446:
only indeterminately sexed individu
Page 447 and 448:
and 12.50% in flexed postures. Suba
Page 449 and 450:
K’AXOB Terminal Preclassic K’ax
Page 451 and 452:
individuals, it appears that subadu
Page 453 and 454:
from the Late Preclassic, with this
Page 455 and 456:
Preclassic may have been going thro
Page 457 and 458:
Preclassic. In those instances wher
Page 459 and 460:
All other artifact material types i
Page 461 and 462:
It should be noted that only three
Page 463 and 464:
that males are interred with a more
Page 465 and 466:
during the Terminal Preclassic than
Page 467 and 468:
numbers of NB Colha chert (32.56%),
Page 469 and 470:
10.81% of the total goods interred
Page 471 and 472:
Overall Overall, adults are interre
Page 473 and 474:
Overall Overall, adults in Terminal
Page 475 and 476:
Page 477 and 478:
female assemblage contains equal fr
Page 479 and 480:
lithics, non‐NB Colha chert core
Page 481 and 482:
Figure 7.2: Deeply carved bone tube
Page 483 and 484:
Greenstone beads represent 6.38% of
Page 485 and 486:
specialized form is seen via the in
Page 487 and 488:
including many prestige materials a
Page 489 and 490:
material modified lithics represent
Page 491 and 492:
Figure 7.5: Shell tinklers from Ter
Page 493 and 494:
assemblage being comprised of shell
Page 495 and 496:
contain 98.58% of the total goods r
Page 497 and 498:
chalcedony core tools three times a
Page 499 and 500:
frequencies of all artifact functio
Page 501 and 502:
NUMBERS OF ARTIFACTS OF VARYING FUN
Page 503 and 504:
COLHA During the Terminal Preclassi
Page 505 and 506:
cover. Of the individuals exhibitin
Page 507 and 508:
with possible male individuals who
Page 509 and 510:
Figure 7.7c: Profile view of cross
Page 511 and 512:
Figure 7.9: Cross motif Vessel 34 f
Page 513 and 514:
INTERMENTS EXHIBITING EVIDENCE OF B
Page 515 and 516:
core tools), non‐NB Colha chert (
Page 517 and 518:
individuals were interred within do
Page 519 and 520:
Page 521 and 522:
Page 523 and 524:
Time Period Site Material Male? Mal
Page 525 and 526:
Time Period Site Material Form Male
Page 527 and 528:
Page 529 and 530:
Page 531 and 532:
Page 533 and 534:
Table 7.18: Number of Head Cover Ve
Page 535 and 536:
Table 7.20: Interments with a Cross
Page 537 and 538:
Table 7.23 :Interments Exhibiting E
Page 539 and 540:
Time Period Site Red Pigment Grand
Page 541 and 542:
Page 543 and 544:
Page 545 and 546:
overarching temporal categories use
Page 547 and 548:
oken down by type (frequency versus
Page 549 and 550:
COLHA All individuals recovered fro
Page 551 and 552:
COLHA CUELLO All individuals at Col
Page 553 and 554:
CUELLO Only indeterminately sexed i
Page 555 and 556:
assemblage. Indeterminate individua
Page 557 and 558:
INTERMENTS WITH ARTIFACTS OF VARYIN
Page 559 and 560:
NUMBER OF INTERMENTS WITH HEAD COVE
Page 561 and 562:
TOTAL NUMBER OF BURNED ARTIFACTS BY
Page 563 and 564:
Page 565 and 566:
Page 567 and 568:
Page 569 and 570:
Page 571 and 572:
Page 573 and 574:
Page 575 and 576:
Time Period Site Function Function
Page 577 and 578:
Page 579 and 580:
Page 581 and 582:
Page 583 and 584:
This is manifested in a higher numb
Page 585 and 586:
items of any material type. Further
Page 587 and 588:
their crania oriented south or nort
Page 589 and 590:
Two subadults are interred with cer
Page 591 and 592:
orientation. Three males are found
Page 593 and 594:
compared to their elders, the lack
Page 595 and 596:
and soil erosion that would have be
Page 597 and 598:
similarly high quantity of shell be
Page 599 and 600:
site (Hammond 1982, 1985). Accordin
Page 601 and 602:
vessels covering their crania. Shel
Page 603 and 604:
indicate a more deliberate social s
Page 605 and 606:
use of red mineral pigments. Cerami
Page 607 and 608:
Females are 1.5 times likelier to h
Page 609 and 610:
the opportunity for earned and ascr
Page 611 and 612:
found in an indeterminate burial po
Page 613 and 614:
DISCUSSION Reader’s Note: All cha
Page 615 and 616:
ALL MATERIALS Material (All) 3000 2
Page 617 and 618:
Terminal Preclassic relative to the
Page 619 and 620:
abilities” and ‘achieved status
Page 621 and 622:
A final example comes from the inte
Page 623 and 624:
generally evidenced across the thre
Page 625 and 626:
CERAMICS Material Ceramic 1400 1200
Page 627 and 628:
ituals throughout the Maya area (Gu
Page 629 and 630:
591 Figure 9.8: Examples of Classic
Page 631 and 632:
Evidence of burning within tombs al
Page 633 and 634:
NON‐JADE GREENSTONE Material Gree
Page 635 and 636:
Documented sources of jadeite or tr
Page 637 and 638:
JADE Material Greenstone (Jade) 25
Page 639 and 640:
amount of goods (Hester and Shafer
Page 641 and 642:
may have spurred elite adult males
Page 643 and 644:
NB COLHA CHERT Material NB Colha Ch
Page 645 and 646:
Given that farming was a mainstay o
Page 647 and 648:
Non‐NB Colha chert does not appea
Page 649 and 650:
materials, the preponderance is fou
Page 651 and 652:
Given the unknown nature of this li
Page 653 and 654:
time progressed. In fact, a small o
Page 655 and 656:
moderate amount of obsidian present
Page 657 and 658:
of goods placed within her assembla
Page 659 and 660:
The context under which bodies or g
Page 661 and 662:
efforts (in the form of hematite, o
Page 663 and 664:
to this high status collective; the
Page 665 and 666:
items within their funerary assembl
Page 667 and 668:
the creation and/or acquisition of
Page 669 and 670:
their identity through the allocati
Page 671 and 672:
possibly solely created for use in
Page 673 and 674:
the Lowlands would be desirable. In
Page 675 and 676:
MIDDLE PRECLASSIC ACROSS ALL THREE
Page 677 and 678:
shell rings and unmodified shell as
Page 679 and 680:
o Cross Motif/No Cross Motif: There
Page 681 and 682:
o Material: Shell is the most quant
Page 683 and 684:
o Form: Shell beads are the most qu
Page 685 and 686:
sexed individuals. The third instan
Page 687 and 688:
o Pigmented/Unpigmented: Considerin
Page 689 and 690:
o Pigmented/Unpigmented: Only one i
Page 691 and 692:
o Material: Shell is the most quant
Page 693 and 694:
LATE PRECLASSIC ACROSS ALL THREE SI
Page 695 and 696:
of both practical and prestige item
Page 697 and 698:
occur exclusively with adults durin
Page 699 and 700:
o Material: Ceramics are the most q
Page 701 and 702:
o Burial Position: Disarticulated s
Page 703 and 704:
CUELLO Males (n=46) o Cranial Orie
Page 705 and 706:
the good most frequently interred w
Page 707 and 708:
K’AXOB o Form: Shell beads are th
Page 709 and 710:
Females (n=12) o Cranial Orientatio
Page 711 and 712:
Subadults (n=20) o Cranial Orientat
Page 713 and 714:
Males are interred with higher numb
Page 715 and 716:
o Form: Ceramic vessel fragments ar
Page 717 and 718:
o Space Function: All males are rec
Page 719 and 720:
o Artifact Function: Adults are int
Page 721 and 722:
o Form: N/A o Space Function: N/A o
Page 723 and 724:
ceramics are associated with pigmen
Page 725 and 726:
o Burial Position: Two thirds of ad
Page 727 and 728:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Adams, Richard E.W. 19
Page 729 and 730:
Bennett, Joanne L. 1999 Thermal Alt
Page 731 and 732:
Arlen F. Chase, pp.123‐138. Pre
Page 733 and 734:
Dreiss, Meredith 1982 An Initial De
Page 735 and 736:
Fitzsimmons, James L. 1998 Classic
Page 737 and 738:
Grube, Nikolai and Linda Schele 199
Page 739 and 740:
Harrison‐Buck, Eleanor 2004 Nouri
Page 741 and 742:
Hester, Thomas R., Giancarlo Ligabu
Page 743 and 744:
Joyce, Rosemary A., and D. C. Grove
Page 745 and 746:
Lovejoy, C. O., et al. 1985 Chronol
Page 747 and 748:
Meadows, Richard 2001 Crafting K’
Page 749 and 750:
1994 Strat 55, Operation 2012, and
Page 751 and 752:
American Indians, vol. 9, R. Waucho
Page 753 and 754:
J.D. Eaton, pp. 31‐39. Center for
Page 755 and 756:
Storey, Rebecca 1992 Life and Death
Page 757 and 758:
Studies in Archeology 16. Texas Arc
Page 759 and 760:
1976 Work in Progress at Colha, Bel
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