The Effect of Missionization on the Itza Maya from Isotopic and Biodistance Evidence

Summary

The Spanish victory over Itza factions in 1697 initiated a period of significant change in the Petén Lakes region, where the construction of Spanish missions and resettlement of indigenous populations likely altered patterns of population movement. We present trace element and isotopic values for eleven individuals buried in Structure T-31 at San Bernabé, a newly discovered mission near the modern town of San Miguel. Markedly different burial patterns, combined with new material culture, suggest that population changes also may have occurred. However, the majority of the isotopic values suggest an origin within the region and show little evidence for in-migration, either voluntary or forced, from centers under varying levels of Spanish control such as Tipu or more distant locals in the northern Yucatan. We incorporate biodistance analysis of the cemetery sample to identify kin based mortuary patterns and to interpret the beginning of the Colonial period in the Petén lakes region.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Current Investigations in the Petén Lakes Region, Guatemala

Keywords

Spatial Coverage