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

60feet were the most common skeletal elements recovered from this operation. Otherbones of interest include a complete right radius shaft, a nearly intact axis, the leftportion of an atlas, and the ischial portion of a right pelvis with good evidence of bonemodification. The radius may represent an adult male because of the overall size androbusticity of the bone. The other bones may represent two additional individualsincluding an adult individual of unknown age and sex, and a subadult. The cranialremains recovered from this operation include a nearly complete temporal bone, and thefragments of a temporal and parietal bone. The chamber floor had evidence to suggestthat this part of the cave was occasionally flooded during the rainy season. Despite thewet conditions, the bones are in a relatively good state of preservation. Several bones ofthe hands and feet, a few rib and vertebral fragments, two incomplete maxillae, and twolong bone elements represent the additional material not included in the sample.Estimates of the minimum number of individuals were conducted at fourdifferent levels – lot, suboperation, operation, and the cave as a whole. If each lot isconsidered individually, and their MNIs are summed, the cave contains a total of 16individuals (Table 3). This estimate includes a possible adult male, 12 adults ofindeterminate age and sex, and 3 subadults. Two of these subadults have been identifiedas probable children. An estimate at the level of the suboperation produced six lessindividuals than the Lot MNI. Six individuals were estimated at the level of theoperation. This Operation MNI is reduced to half when an MNI of the cave as a wholeis calculated. It must be emphasized that these figures are estimates and do not representthe exact number of individuals represented in the skeletal deposit of this cave.