Burial Practices of

Ancient Mesoamerica
Four Case Studies

A Little Background
Case studies span from the preclassic/formative period
to the post classic
Primary and secondary burials/interments and
continuous use of tombs
Many of these sites were dated by their ceramic
complex

Mortuary Ritual at Formative Kaxob, Belize

72 burial contexts and 103 individuals

Who and how?
Under floors of domestic structures--household dedication ceremonies
3 types of primary interment: extended, flexed, and seated
Secondary and primary burials
Changes over time
Preference shifts from extended to flexed/seated burials, back and forth
Variation from household to household
Burial pits become larger and more elaborate
Preservation
Preservation bias may leave females and young individuals underrepresented
Difficult to sex
Grave wealth
2 categories: shell and pottery

Tombs and Tomb Reuse in Ejutla, Oaxaca

Ongoing tomb use; ongoing occupation by a common group

Periodic clearing of tomb
Burial populations could be seriously deflated
5 individuals (plus a dog) found in tomb
Evidence of previous interments
Over 100 human teeth, bones, and bone fragments found in midden
contexts in close proximity
Comparison of Research Done at Monte Alban, Tomb 7
Primary or secondary burials? Perhaps answer lies in continual tomb use
What evidence do we have to support this?
Grave wealth suggests deposition over a period of time
Disarray of bones--sequential interments

Late Classic Maya Mortuary Practices at Xuenkal, Yucatn

(Structure FN-183)

4 grave receptacles (3 cists, 1 crypt)

Minimum number of individuals: 18 or 23
What do we know about them?
Primary and secondary interments or perhaps...?
Mix of primary and secondary burials--continual use
Significance of the skull
Overrepresentation of the skull
Culturally selected for predepositional purposes
Intentional cranial deformation
Trophy skull?
Underrepresentation of infants and females
Grave goods; what and any implications?

Burial Practices in the Early Postclassic at Teotihuacan

(after the fall of Teotihuacan)

Reevaluation of research done by Vaillant and Linn ca. 1931-1932

Excavations at Las Palmas zone (Vaillant)
10 Skull burials and human remains; who and how?
Grave goods and offerings; what kind?
Xolalpan Compound (Linn)
16 early postclassic burials; who and how?
Grave goods and offerings; what kind?
Las Palmas Compound (Linn)
6 burials; who and how?
Grave goods and offerings; what kind?
Oztotlan Compound (Linn)
2 burials in stone lined burial feature; who and how?
Grave goods and offerings; what kind?
Cueva de las Varillas, Tunnels East of the Pyramid of the Sun (Manzanilla)
13 burials in man-made cave (purpose?); who and how?

Questions, anyone?

References
Traci Arden, et al. (2010). A Taphonomic Approach to Late Classic Maya Mortuary
Practices at Xuenkal, Yucatn, Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology, 35, pp
365-379.
Christina M. Elson and Kenneth Mowbray (2005). Burial
Practices in Teotihuacan in the Early Postclassic Period: The Vaillant and Linn
Excavations (19311932). Ancient Mesoamerica, 16, pp 195-21.
Patricia A. McAnany, Rebecca Storey and Angela K. Lockard
(1999). Mortuary Ritual and Family Politics at Formative and Early Classic K
axob, Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica, 10, pp 129-146.
William D. Middleton, Gary M. Feinman and Guillermo Molina Villegas (1998). Tomb
Use and Reuse in Oaxaca, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica, 9, pp 297-307.