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

117that suggest post-mortem activity. Judging by the amount of human material recovered,this cave may have served as an ossuary for the primary or secondary deposition of thegeneral population of Dos Pilas.Cueva de Río MurciélagosThis cave produced a skeletal sample biased towards long bone and cranialmaterial. The only elements not examined in this analysis are two crania, possibly of anadult male and a young adult female (Wright’s unpublished notes 1994). Thedisarticulated remains excavated from CRM account for a minimum of eight to 19individuals, which includes several adults and a few subadults. The most accurate MNIand PNI estimates are at the level of the Operation with 11 individuals. An incompletefemur and tibia exhibit possible cut marks caused by human agents. These cut marks arenot clear enough to suggest a specific depositional activity, however, the NISP and therelative skeletal element frequencies resemble secondary activity despite the mode ofrecovery. This cave may not have experienced the volume of depositional activity asCueva de Río El Duende and Cueva de Sangre.Cueva de SangreCueva de Sangre represents the most complex cave system used by the Maya ofDos Pilas. A combination of excavations and basic surface collections produced thelargest skeletal deposit recovered from the caves of the Petexbatun region. I analyzed493 out of the 822 elements recovered from CS. This partial skeletal sample did nothinder the interpretation of the possible depositional activity or activities that may haveoccurred throughout this extensive cave system. For example, the articulated remains of