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

30After rounding up to the highest whole number we would render an MNI of fourindividuals. Another means to increase the number of bones scored would involve acount of discrete bone regions of the fragmentary material. In many cases, the skeletalmaterial is too fragmentary to be considered in any accurate estimation and would thusbe disregarded from the sample. An exact estimate of the individuals represented in agiven skeletal sample is nearly impossible to ascertain. Nevertheless, the calculation ofNISP and MNI estimates are reasonable methods to consider.These methods were developed and are still widely utilized within the sub-fieldof zooarchaeology, however, bioarchaeologists have applied these procedures in theirown investigations. For example, Tim White (1992) calculated and interpreted theinformation collected from the MNIs and NISPs in his study of prehistoric cannibalismamong the Anasazi of the Mancos Canyon site. Despite the theoretical shortcomings ofthese methods, they can still provide the investigator with a complimentary estimate ofthe number of individuals represented in a particular skeletal assemblage.My quantitative analysis of the various skeletal deposits began with a basicassessment of the total number of identified specimens for each cave. The additionalmaterial documented in Brady’s preliminary report (1991) and Wright’s unpublishednotes (1994) are included in these NISP calculations. The Appendices list the sample Istudied including Wright’s unpublished notes (1994). The NISPs are used to calculatethe relative skeletal element frequencies for each cave in order to evaluate the types ofdepositional activities that may have occurred. The interpretation of the NISPs and therelative skeletal element frequencies will be discussed in more detail in Chapter VII.