The Zooarchaeology of Problematic Deposits: Ancient Maya Use of Fauna in Ritual Contexts at Group B, Xunantunich

Summary

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, skeletal elements recovered, taxa present, cultural signatures such as butchery, bone tool manufacture, and bone implements or personal adornments, and natural taphonomic signatures. These data and our analyses contextualize these deposits by providing information as to whether they are middens, domestic occurrences, or rituals. We conclude by comparing the Group B deposits with similar deposits excavated in the Belize Valley at the sites of Baking Pot and Lower Dover to identify whether similar patterns are present.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21830