Copyright by Micaela Nerio Obledo 2011 - The University of Texas ...

compared to the Middle Preclassic; however it is clear that male individuals are still
being preferentially preserved.
CUELLO
The interred Late Preclassic population of Cuello is composed of 46 males, 34
indeterminately sexed individuals, 13 possible males, 9 females and 7 possible
females. This means that 42.20% of the population was males, 31.19%
indeterminate, 11.93% possible males, 8.26% females and 6.42% possible females.
It should be noted that 44 of the above individuals were interred in two separate
Late Preclassic mass burials; one with 32 individuals and the other with 12
individuals.
It is postulated that the numerous male decedents seen in the mass burial of
32 individuals may in fact represent captives from another site, taken for sacrifice at
the dedication of Cuello Platform 34. While some of the defleshed body bundles
could have represented ancestors, this is not likely, for “the lifelike postures in
which some burials were found, kneeling or cross‐legged holding a vessel, contrast
so dramatically with the more usual extended supine, crouched or tightly flexed
burials, that entry of these individuals into the circular grave pit while still alive
cannot be ruled out (Hammond et al 1991: 42, Gerhardt and Hammond 1991: 112).
Analysis shows that males were approximately five times more prevalent than
females, a large increase in relative frequencies from the previous time period. Thus,
it is clear that as yet unidentified variables influencing the preferential preservation
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