Comparative Approaches to Casas Grandes Taphonomy and Violence

Summary

Recent bioarchaeological analyses of human skeletal remains from the Medio Period Casas Grandes region (AD 1200-1450) have demonstrated taphonomic indicators variously interpreted as massacre, violent persecution of witches, or anthropophagy. In this presentation, we re-examine taphonomic data from Paquime and within a larger southwestern perspective. We combine new approaches to demography and individual well-being with taphonomic and mortuary datasets from Paquime to evaluate the causes, consequences, and social meaning of violence and post-mortem processing. By examining who was subject to trauma, violent death, and body processing, bioarchaeological analyses can show the cultural role that violence plays within society. Based on a comparison with violently killed and processed remains at sites throughout the greater southwest, including Sacred Ridge and Mancos, patterns of violence and trauma are identified. Findings unique to each site are also identified, specific to their cultural contexts.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Moving Forward in Casas Grandes Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage