Maya: Classic (Other Keyword)
851-857 (857 Records)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This poster provides an analysis of faunal materials from mixed deposits in both the Caves Branch Rockshelter (CBR) and Sapodilla Rockshelter (SDR) in Central Belize. This analysis continues previous research at the two sites from contexts spanning the Protoclassic to Terminal Classic temporal periods concerning ancient Maya ritual and mortuary behaviors. The...
Zooarchaeological Explorations at Aventura, Belize (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Households at Aventura: Life and Community Longevity at an Ancient Maya City" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper presents the results of a broad zooarchaeological analysis conducted on remains recovered from a variety of contexts at the ancient Maya community of Aventura (Corozal, Belize). Because this is the first analysis of faunal remains from Aventura, it provides valuable information about life in the...
Zooarchaeology and Bioarchaeology: Ceremonial Feasts and Human Caches at Plaza of the Columns Complex, Teotihuacan (2018)
Preliminary analyses of the zooarchaeological assemblage from the Plaza of the Columns Complex illustrate a snapshot into past human activities such as specialized ceremonial events and faunal acquisition strategies for food consumption. The fauna from this complex, located just northwest of the Sun Pyramid, add to the database of forty years of archaeofaunal exploration throughout Teotihuacan. Here, we focus upon animal species distributed among four areas to understand the economic and ritual...
The Zooarchaeology of La Corona: Sustenance and Symbol (2018)
The tropical lowland surroundings of La Corona support a wide range of indigenous fauna. Zooarchaeological analysis demonstrates that the site’s ancient inhabitants made use of this diversity, exploiting many terrestrial and aquatic taxa in subsistence and ritual activity. This paper summarizes major zooarchaeological findings from the duration of the La Corona Regional Archaeological Project. Excavations at La Corona have not targeted areas expected to be "fauna rich" and have produced...
The Zooarchaeology of Problematic Deposits: Ancient Maya Use of Fauna in Ritual Contexts at Group B, Xunantunich (2018)
Zooarchaeological data provides details on the social processes related to ritual artifact deposits in the Maya area. This poster provides the results of faunal analysis on materials collected during the 2016 and 2017 Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance project excavations of Group B at the site of Xunantunich. Our excavations focused on structures B1, B2, and B4, where multiple, and often layered, deposits of artifacts were located outside of the structures. Data collected includes,...
ZooMing through the Maya: An Approach to Assess Mammal Diversity in Lamanai and Marco Gonzalez (Belize) (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Mammals are an essential part of the jungle world surrounding the Maya, both for their cosmovision and subsistence. Their identification in the archaeological record is essential to understand their complex role. This work, as a proof of concept, tested the application of Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) in Maya sites of Lamanai and Marco Gonzalez...
A Zoontological Approach for Examining the Role of Animals in Ancestral Maya Ritual and Society (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Animals played a fundamental role in mythology and religion among the ancestral Maya. Iconography often depicts animals, including humans dressed as animals, taking part in feasts and ceremonial performances. Archaeologically, the remains of these important animals are recovered from ritual contexts such as burials, altars, caches, and other special...