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

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HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS OF THE ANCIENT MAYA IN THE CAVESOF DOS PILAS, GUATEMALAA ThesisbyAMADOR MINJARES, JR.Submitted to Texas A&M Universityin partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree ofMASTER OF ARTSApproved as to style and content by:____________________________Lori E. Wright(Chair of Committee)___________________________David G. Steele(Member)____________________________Jonathan Smith(Member)___________________________David L. Carlson(Head of Department)August 2003Major Subject: Anthropology
iiiABSTRACTHuman Skeletal Remains of the Ancient Maya in the Caves of Dos Pilas, Guatemala.(August 2003)Amador Minjares, Jr., B.A., University of Notre DameChair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Lori E. WrightThis study focuses on the assessment of the depositional activity that occurred insix caves of the Petexbatun region of the Peten, Guatemala through a quantitativeanalysis of the human skeletal material recovered from them. Five of these caves areassociated with the site of Dos Pilas; the sixth cave (Cueva de Los Quetzales) is locatedbeneath the site of Las Pacayas. The cave is an important aspect of the Mayaworldview, as evidenced in the artifactual and skeletal material found in caves byarchaeological exploration. My study is specifically focused on the assessment of theprimary and/or secondary burial of Maya dead within these caves via analyses of therelative skeletal element frequencies, the minimum and probable number of individuals,and the identification of human cut marks. Based on these lines of evidence and datafrom preliminary reports, between 100 and 150 individuals of both sexes and various agegroups were primarily deposited/buried in these caves. Secondary activity may beinferred based on evidence of human-made cut marks on several elements. There is noosteological evidence to support the hypothesis of human sacrifice. I was unable todetermine the status of the individuals deposited in the caves. The best interpretation isthat several types of depositional activity occurred within these caves over time.
Page 1: HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS OF THE ANCIE
Page 5 and 6: vACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis research was
Page 7 and 8: viiCHAPTERPageIV SITE DESCRIPTIONS
Page 9 and 10: ixLIST OF FIGURESFIGUREPage1 Map of
Page 11 and 12: xiLIST OF TABLESTABLEPage1 Caves of
Page 13 and 14: 2Fig. 1. Map of the Petexbatun regi
Page 15 and 16: 4prove or disprove my hypothesis. T
Page 19 and 20: 8Caves are also known to share an o
Page 21 and 22: 10Artifactual materialThe artifacts
Page 23 and 24: 12activities, which included bloodl
Page 25 and 26: 14represented. A ceramic analysis r
Page 27 and 28: 16based on the identification of th
Page 29 and 30: 18when a structure is placed over o
Page 31 and 32: 20The Copan Ritual Caves Project la
Page 33 and 34: 22sacrificial victims. The identifi
Page 35 and 36: 24CHAPTER IIIMATERIALS AND METHODSS
Page 37 and 38: 26InventoryMy analysis began with a
Page 39 and 40: 28responsible. A precise methodolog
Page 41 and 42: 30After rounding up to the highest
Page 43 and 44: 32and subadults are differentiated
Page 45 and 46: 34demonstrate the practice of inter
Page 47 and 48: 36Implements such stone tools may h
Page 49 and 50: 38of the young woman involved the r
Page 51 and 52: 40Fig. 3. Caves of the Petexbatun.
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42I) consisted of an excavation in
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44Cueva de Río El DuendeCueva de R
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46excavation uncovered evidence of
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48Fig. 6. Complete map of Cueva de
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50these remains were recovered by m
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52Dos Pilas as a dominant polity in
Page 65 and 66:
54Fig. 7. Map of Cueva de Los Quetz
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56CHAPTER VNISP AND MNI - AN ANALYS
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58Cueva de El DuendeOne hundred for
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60feet were the most common skeleta
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62estimates indicate that Cueva de
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64skeletal elementpedal phalangemet
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66TABLE 4. MNI for Cueva de Río El
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68five rooms in Operation CNP2. Roo
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70CNP2-24-1CNP2-26-1CNP2-27-1CNP2-2
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72modification was one of the more
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74result from a small sample size,
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76material examined in this study,
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78TABLE 7. MNI for Cueva de Sangre.
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80MNI considered material from 41 l
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82CS9-06-1CS11-03-2CS11-03-3CS11-03
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84Three hundred and fifty meters of
Page 97 and 98:
8626 individuals (Table 9). I ident
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88calculated an MNI at the level of
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90TABLE 11. MNI for Cueva de Los Qu
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92the operation and the cave seem m
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94between these two types of activi
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96represent the sample with evidenc
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98The second group consists of eigh
Page 111 and 112:
100One of the deeper cut marks was
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102CNP2-07-1/18A complete left femo
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104occur throughout the bone. The f
Page 117 and 118:
106The identification of human-made
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108harsh effects of the active envi
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110did not affect this particular b
Page 123 and 124:
112TABLE 12. NISPs, MNIs, and PNIs
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114processed for secondary burial (
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116in mind that this and the many o
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118an adult male recovered from an
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120Cueva de Los QuetzalesThe skelet
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122some doubt. These assessments ba
Page 135 and 136:
124CHAPTER VIIICONCLUSIONSThe infor
Page 137 and 138:
126LITERATURE CITEDAnderson AH. 196
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128Brady JE, Rodas I. 1995. Maya Ri
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130Johnston FE. 1962. Growth of the
Page 143 and 144:
132Pohl M, Pohl J. 1983. Ancient Ma
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134Pre-Columbian Archaeology. Oxfor
Page 147 and 148:
APPENDIX IINVENTORY FOR CUEVA DE EL
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CD2-01-8B pelvis R complete ischium
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APPENDIX IIINVENTORY FOR CUEVA DE R
Page 153 and 154:
CNP2-07-1/10 femur L prox.1/2 shaft
Page 155 and 156:
CNP2-12-1/13 humerus R dist.1/2 sha
Page 157 and 158:
CNP2-20-1/11 femur L nearly complet
Page 159 and 160:
CNP2-26-1/1 long bone ? 4+ fragsCNP
Page 161 and 162:
CNP2-28-1/35 mandible L no teeth &
Page 163 and 164:
APPENDIX IIIINVENTORY FOR CUEVA DE
Page 165 and 166:
CRM4-03-1/1 tibia R shaft frag, cor
Page 167 and 168:
CS1-77-2/3 sacrum A anterior aspect
Page 169 and 170:
CS2-11-1/2 radius R complete shaft,
Page 171 and 172:
CS5-07-1/11 frags ? 7 fragsCS5-07-1
Page 173 and 174:
CS9-02-1 B7 tibia L prox.2/3 shaft,
Page 175 and 176:
CS9-04-1/3 tibia R prox.1/2 shaft,
Page 177 and 178:
CS9-06-1/14 femur L complete shaft,
Page 179 and 180:
CS11-05-1/3 long bone ? 15 fragsCS1
Page 181 and 182:
CS11-05-1 grp.B/1 vertebra A centru
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CKP2-03-1/10 femur L complete shaft
Page 185 and 186:
CKP2-04-1/3 femur L dist.1/2 shaft,
Page 187 and 188:
CKP9-06-1 tibia R CKP 62-63; prox.1
Page 189 and 190:
CQ1-10-11 upper I2 R root is formin
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