Newton, Jennifer
An Investigation of Residential Mortuary Trends Among the Southern Lowland Maya: A Case Study at Ka'kabish, Belize
Mortuary archaeology presents a unique opportunity to compare cultural and biological factors within burial assemblages. This study expands upon the previous bioarchaeological research in the eastern portion of the Southern Maya Lowlands through a comparative mortuary analysis that highlights burial trends between the site of Ka'kabish, Belize, and surrounding settlements. Ka'kabish spans from the Middle Formative through to the Postclassic periods (ca. 800 BC to AD 1500) and signifies a diverse social-strata with burials ranging from a variety of ritual and domestic complexes. Ka'kabish displays a preference for primary interments of non-extended positioning, greater chultun (subterranean chambers) use than displayed regionally, potential ancestor veneration, and demonstrates a transition from public, monumental burials, to private, domestic burials, from the Middle/Late Formative to the Postclassic periods. Inter-site comparisons demonstrate that Ka'kabish's mortuary patterns do not directly fit within a specific regional trend; rather, Ka'kabish displays a wide range of influences from many sites in the surrounding lowlands.
Author Keywords: Belize, Ka'kabish, Lowlands, Maya, Mortuary, Southern
The Depth of Death: Investigating the Mortuary Pattern of an Ancient Maya Chultun
The ancient Maya utilized aspects of their landscape within their religious rituals and ceremonies, including caves. The study of ritual cave use is known as Maya cave archaeology and archaeologists in this subfield suggest that all holes in the earth, be it natural or man-made were viewed as ritually significant spaces to the ancient Maya (Brady and Layco 2018). This thesis analyzes the mortuary pattern of a chultun in relation to natural cave rituals and/or burials to determine if both types of subterranean spaces functioned in ritually similar ways. Through excavation of a dual-chambered chultun at the site of Ka'kabish, this research established a parallel pattern between burials found in natural caves and the burials within a chultun/artificial cave. In so doing, this thesis provides much needed data in support of applying Maya cave archaeology theories and practices in the excavation and study of ancient Maya chultuns.
Author Keywords: Belize, cave burials, chultuns, Maya archaeology, Maya cave archaeology, mortuary archaeology
Use and Utilization of Loose and Commingled Human Dental Remains in Investigations of Ancient Human Populations
Commingled teeth present a unique opportunity for a novel application of standard methodological approaches commonly utilized in dental anthropological studies. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted on loose or commingled dental assemblages to determine if they are suitable samples for reconstructing bioarchaeological narratives of ancient human populations. The lack of research on commingled dental samples is surprising, given that teeth are highly resistant to post-depositional deterioration and are often some of the only remains left in high deteriorated burials. An experimental analysis of a commingled dental assemblage recovered from four chultuns at Ka'kabish, Belize, was conducted to address this lack of research and provide a real-world example of the potential use and utilization of commingled dental assemblages in investigations of ancient human populations.
Author Keywords: Anthropology, Belize, Commingled, Dental, Maya, Methods