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

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11Tlaloc and vessels with “bands of studs” were the principal ceremonial offerings foundthroughout the chambers (Andrews 1970). This image of the rain god may suggest thepresence of Central Mexican influences in the area. One of the more impressiveofferings contained 232 miniature stone manos and metates strewn on the cave floor, aswell as 25 clay spindle whorls and other large offertory vessels. The “Throne of theBalam” consisted of a large cache of ceremonial objects associated with an impressivepillar formed by a stalactite and stalagmite (Andrews 1970). This columnar formationalso had evidence of two handprints produced in red ochre. Artificial constructions werealso found in the entrance of the cave, as well as the main passageway.Ch’en P’ix CaveA single artifact may be as informative and noteworthy as a large ceremonialoffering consisting of hundreds of elements. This is true in the case of the serendipitousfind in the inner depths of the Ch’en P’ix cave, a cave located in the Northern VacaPlateau in west-central Belize. Exploration and basic surface collections of the caveproduced abundant deposits of artifacts. However, one of the more interestingdiscoveries was a nearly complete tripod plate with a depiction of an individual engagedin a possible bloodletting ritual (Colas et al. 2000). The ceramic sherds of the plate werefound near a few obsidian blades atop an artificial platform feature (Colas et al. 2000).A path outlined by broken speleothems led one from the cave entrance to this platform.According to Colas et al. (2000:9), these artificial constructions and the brokenpolychrome Tripod plate represent a possible location “built specifically for ritual
12activities, which included bloodletting.” These discoveries surely provide insight intoritual cave-use by the Maya.Actun BalamThe cave of Actun Balam is also located in the Vaca Plateau in close proximityto Ch’en P’ix Cave and southeast of the site of Caracol. The exploration and excavationof the five chambers of this dry cave produced a variety of ceramic and non-ceramicmaterial. More than 22,000 ceramic sherds were excavated from Chamber C, datingfrom the Late Classic to the Terminal Classic/Early Postclassic period (Pendergast1969:58). One of the more important artifacts recovered from the chamber was theActun Balam Vase, a nearly complete polychrome vessel with a detailed depiction of adeer hunt. Pendergast (1969:60) posits that the accumulation of ceramics in Chamber Cmay represent “offerings made to spirits thought to inhabit caves,” a notion that clearlyresonates with the cosmological beliefs of the ancient Maya. Non-ceramic artifactsincluded bone and shell beads, stone bifaces, and a small sample of unmodified faunalremains. The cave, like many others in the Maya area, also had evidence of artificialconstructions in the form of retaining walls demarcating boundaries between certainchambers (Pendergast 1969).Artificial constructions and cave modificationsThe physical alteration of the natural cave environment has been documented ina number of caves throughout the Maya area. The construction of artificial structuresand/or the direct modification of cave features demonstrate the time and energyexpended on the functional or ritual changes made by the ancient Maya. Evidence of
Page 1 and 2: HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS OF THE ANCIE
Page 3 and 4: iiiABSTRACTHuman Skeletal Remains o
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: 10Artifactual materialThe artifacts
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.
Page 53 and 54: 42I) consisted of an excavation in
Page 55 and 56: 44Cueva de Río El DuendeCueva de R
Page 57 and 58: 46excavation uncovered evidence of
Page 59 and 60: 48Fig. 6. Complete map of Cueva de
Page 61 and 62: 50these remains were recovered by m
Page 63 and 64: 52Dos Pilas as a dominant polity in
Page 65 and 66: 54Fig. 7. Map of Cueva de Los Quetz
Page 67 and 68: 56CHAPTER VNISP AND MNI - AN ANALYS
Page 69 and 70: 58Cueva de El DuendeOne hundred for
Page 71 and 72: 60feet were the most common skeleta
Page 73 and 74:
62estimates indicate that Cueva de
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64skeletal elementpedal phalangemet
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66TABLE 4. MNI for Cueva de Río El
Page 79 and 80:
68five rooms in Operation CNP2. Roo
Page 81 and 82:
70CNP2-24-1CNP2-26-1CNP2-27-1CNP2-2
Page 83 and 84:
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,
Page 89 and 90:
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
Page 95 and 96:
84Three hundred and fifty meters of
Page 97 and 98:
8626 individuals (Table 9). I ident
Page 99 and 100:
88calculated an MNI at the level of
Page 101 and 102:
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
Page 109 and 110:
98The second group consists of eigh
Page 111 and 112:
100One of the deeper cut marks was
Page 113 and 114:
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
Page 119 and 120:
108harsh effects of the active envi
Page 121 and 122:
110did not affect this particular b
Page 123 and 124:
112TABLE 12. NISPs, MNIs, and PNIs
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114processed for secondary burial (
Page 127 and 128:
116in mind that this and the many o
Page 129 and 130:
118an adult male recovered from an
Page 131 and 132:
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
Page 139 and 140:
128Brady JE, Rodas I. 1995. Maya Ri
Page 141 and 142:
130Johnston FE. 1962. Growth of the
Page 143 and 144:
132Pohl M, Pohl J. 1983. Ancient Ma
Page 145 and 146:
134Pre-Columbian Archaeology. Oxfor
Page 147 and 148:
APPENDIX IINVENTORY FOR CUEVA DE EL
Page 149 and 150:
CD2-01-8B pelvis R complete ischium
Page 151 and 152:
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
Page 183 and 184:
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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