NOBODY PUTS GRANDMA IN THE CORNER: PLACEMAKING AT EARLY CLASSIC CHAN CHICH, BELIZE

Abstract

Mortuary evidence of the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) at the Chan Chich acropolis suggests the consolidation of power by the local ruling elite. Located in the northeastern corner of the Upper Plaza, Burial CC-B20 contained the exceptionally well-preserved remains of an elderly adult female within a stone-lined crypt (Crypt 2; cal AD 257–387). The excellent skeletal preservation allowed a comprehensive osteobiography; cranial modification, stable isotopes, and pathological changes to the vertebrae and long bones tell a story of a long and active life. The Early Classic was a transformational era at the city. During the Preclassic period, the Chan Chich rulers consolidated power by manipulating the built environment to create a political place in the Upper Plaza. In the Early Classic, they constructed a vaulted crypt in the Upper Plaza, partially dismantling a Late Preclassic platform in the process. Crypt 1 contained multiple male individuals and markers of rulership, including spondylus shell earflares and a jade bib-helmet pendant. In contrast, the coeval Burial CCB-20 lacked artifacts, but the construction of the crypt was labor-intensive. The interment of the woman in Burial CCB-20 marks a change in the location and body treatment of the ruling lineage interred in this exclusive location. Osteological data are interpreted in concert with contextual information to gain insight into local ideas concerning power and gender, as well as into elite life at Early Classic Chan Chich.