LIFE AND DEATH AMONG THE EARLIEST MAYA: A REVIEW OF EARLY AND MIDDLE PRECLASSIC BURIALS FROM THE MAYA WORLD

Gabriel D Wrobel,Raúl Alejandro López Pérez,Claire E Ebert

doi:10.1017/s0956536121000456

Gabriel D Wrobel, Raúl Alejandro López Pérez + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536121000456

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Abstract

AbstractThis article presents a review of the earliest Maya skeletal remains thus far found, including a list of 398 burials dating to the Early (1800–900 b.c.) and Middle Preclassic periods (900–300 b.c.) and adjacent regions. These sites are spread throughout the Maya region and the data allow basic descriptive syntheses about early mortuary behavior and aspects of health and diet. Poor preservation and differences in scoring and reporting severely limit the scope of interpretation possible at this point, but it is hoped that this review stimulates coordinated research into the biology of early groups.

Highlights

Despite evidence for continuous human presence in the Maya Lowlands for at least 12,000 years, most bioarchaeological research in the region is dominated by a focus on the most visible and accessible contexts that date to the Classic period (a.d. 300–900/1000)
Rodríguez found no significant differences in porotic hyperostosis, non-specific periosteal reactions, linear enamel hypoplasias, caries, abscesses, and dental wear
This review identifies some intriguing themes among Early and Middle Preclassic skeletons in the Maya area

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Despite evidence for continuous human presence in the Maya Lowlands for at least 12,000 years (see Wrobel et al 2021), most bioarchaeological research in the region is dominated by a focus on the most visible and accessible contexts that date to the Classic period (a.d. 300–900/1000). The earliest skeletal evidence of cranial modification in the Maya area comes from Middle Preclassic contexts at the sites of Cuello, Belize (Hammond et al 2002) and Altar de Sacrificios (Saul 1972); despite a lack of evidence for it among the few, poorly preserved remains dating to the Early Preclassic, these groups almost certainly practiced cranial modification, given its ubiquity in the region before and after that period. Javier Romero Molina (1958) describes early material evidence of Maya dental practices, such as inlays in the drilled teeth of an individual who lived at the central lowland site of Uaxactún (Peten, Guatemala) during the Mamon phase (600–350 b.c.)

LIMITATIONS

Findings

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS