HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS OF THE ANCIENT MAYA IN THE ...

116in mind that this and the many other skeletal samples recovered from these caves areincomplete deposits, as portions of the cave remain unexcavated.Cueva de Río El DuendeThe skeletal material recovered from CNP was surface collected from the easternportion of the cave. This concentration of material may be due to easier access via thelarger cave entrance on the eastern side or the easterly flow of the river. The samplerecovered from CNP is disproportionately long bone material, especially femora. It isdifficult to determine whether the sample is a product of a certain depositional activity orthe result of a specific sampling method. The NISP and the relative skeletal elementfrequencies point to a secondary depositional activity such as an ossuary. However, Icannot rule out primary deposition because of the possibility of a biased sample. A basicsurface collection would neglect to recover smaller skeletal elements buried in themuddy cave floors, which would clearly bias a primarily deposited skeletal sample. Thedemographic profile of CNP supports the possibility of an ossuary. The cave producedskeletal elements that accounted for approximately 46 to 73 individuals. These figuresrepresent the MNI and PNI estimates at the level of the entire cave, respectively. Theestimates are most accurate at this level because of evidence of skeletal elementdisplacement occurring within the cave. Most of the individuals are adults ofindeterminate age and sex, however children and juveniles also constitute a small portionof the sample (15 percent). This points to the burial or deposition of various age groupswithin the cave, which resembles the demographic composition documented in the skullpit at Colha (Massey and Steele 1997). Three incomplete femur shafts have cut marks