Leaving Their Mark on the Wall: Determining Sex in Ancient Maya Rock Art

Summary

Handprints and stencils are ubiquitous elements in rock art throughout the world. Numerous well preserved examples have been noted in Maya caves. These elements provide a clue as to the sex of the person whose hand is recorded on the cave wall. Recent studies have shown that sex may be estimated with a high degree of accuracy using anthropometric hand measurements. Sex is estimated by applying a variety of mathematical models based on sexual dimorphism in hand dimensions to direct measurement from rock art elements. Measurements have been collected from hand-prints in a number of caves in Yucatan to provide a large database for this project. Sex determination from rock art elements may improve the understanding of gender roles of ancient Maya within the context of cave use.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Emerging from the Place of Darkness: Subterranean Archaeology in Mesoamerica

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17118