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

35interment. There is evidence that suggests the heads of captives were taken as trophiesduring campaigns of war. Acts of peri- or post-mortem dismemberment and thesubsequent burial of the individual represent activities that may occur before deathand/or interment.Secondary burialA secondary burial is another form of mortuary practice documented not only inthe Maya area, but also throughout the world. This type of interment includes theexhumation of remains followed by re-burial or deposition in a different place.According to Hurlbut (2000:11), secondary interments may occur in a number ofcontexts, which include mass graves or ossuaries, individual graves, urns, or bundleburials. Becker (1988:126) posits that the Maya may have intentionally selected certainskeletal elements that were “more representative of the total remains of an individualthan other bones” because of their “recognizability” and/or “religious or ceremonialvalue.” Elements such as the skull and long bones (femur, tibia, humerus) may havebeen preferred because of their larger size. This would facilitate easier transport and reburial.However, the process of exhumation and re-burial may have warrantedadditional processing of the skeletal material.Secondary burial activity may involve post-mortem alteration of the remains,which includes intentional disarticulation and defleshing of bony elements (Hurlbut2000). The Maya may have allowed a primarily interred body to decompose before itsexhumation, post-mortem manipulation (if necessary), and secondary interment. TheMaya may have removed residual tissue if the body had not fully decomposed.