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

26InventoryMy analysis began with a thorough inventory of the skeletal collection on loanfrom Guatemala; no further excavation in the caves of Dos Pilas was necessary.Unfortunately, the collection I analyzed does not contain the entire sample recoveredfrom these caves. An inventory of the skeletal material and estimates of the minimumnumber of individuals for the first operation of Cueva de Sangre are included in thepreliminary report by Brady et al. (1991). Several elements recovered from the fourother caves were not exported from Guatemala for study and are documented inWright’s unpublished notes (1994). My skeletal analysis has accommodated for thisincomplete sample by including the material described in these reports with the sample Iexamined, specifically the calculation of the number of identified specimens (NISPs) foreach cave.The inventory includes the identification and side of each skeletal element. Iexcluded from the analysis small fragments and bones that were too fragmentary toidentify. There were instances where I pieced several bone fragments to form anidentifiable long bone shaft or a nearly complete cranium or cranial bone. I alsorecorded a detailed description of each skeletal element. For instance, I noted theportion and proportion of the bone present, as well as any other pertinent informationthat could be gleaned through a basic observation of the bones, i.e. evidence of bonemodification, animal gnawing, extreme staining and polishing, pathology, etc.I determined the age and sex of each skeletal element when possible. A largeproportion of the bony material is too fragmentary to be analyzed. This made age and