Abstract
Inspired by life course and osteobiography approaches, this article explores the life and death of an individual associated with thelakamtitle (“banner” in Colonial Yukatek Maya; thus, a “standard-bearer”), a nonroyal elite of Late Classic period Maya society (AD 600–850). Although these elites are depicted on polychrome vessels and carved monuments, little is known about their life experiences and mortuary practices. The present analysis centers on an individual found at Structure GZ1, a temple with a hieroglyphic stairway, at the Maya archaeological site of El Palmar, Mexico. Using osteological, archaeological, and epigraphic data as different lines of evidence, we examine the relationship of the individual to his affiliated group. At the time of interment, there were a wide array of social, cultural, and political events both shaping and reshaping the body and identities of the individual during a period of political turbulence.
Highlights
Inspired by life course and osteobiography approaches, this article explores the life and death of an individual associated with the lakam title (“banner” in Colonial Yukatek Maya; a “standard-bearer”), a nonroyal elite of Late Classic period Maya society (AD 600–850)
The application of life course and osteobiography approaches to the remains of individuals in the archaeological record allows researchers, in more fluid and holistic ways, to begin reconstructing who those individuals were as people, some of their life experiences, and how they were treated and remembered by their family at death
Researchers argue that dental inlays in Classic Maya society were a sign of higher social status, preferentially performed among elites who lived in the urban core of the Maya Lowlands (Geller 2004; Sharer 1978; Tiesler 2014; Tiesler et al 2017)
Summary
Inspired by life course and osteobiography approaches, this article explores the life and death of an individual associated with the lakam title (“banner” in Colonial Yukatek Maya; a “standard-bearer”), a nonroyal elite of Late Classic period Maya society (AD 600–850). This article applies a multifaceted methodology that draws on osteological, archaeological, and epigraphic data to gain a better understanding of the life and death of an individual buried at the Maya site of El Palmar, Mexico. Epigraphic studies suggest that this individual had the title of lakam (“banner” in Colonial Yukatek Maya; a “standard-bearer”), an important political position during the Late Classic period (AD 600–800).
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