Deviancy, an Alternate Means of Child Veneration at the Maya Site of Colha

Summary

The veneration of space is a process that at times incorporates deviant practices as a method of signifying key importance. The deposition of burnt infant remains and associated grave goods diverges from burial norms at the Maya site of Colha. In May of 2017, archaeologists with the Programme for Belize Archaeological project returned to the site after a multi-year hiatus. The burnt skeletal remains of an infant, between the ages of 1.5 and 2.5 were found in association with burnt pottery sherds, bifaces, and shells. The burial deviates from Maya inhumation practices at Colha and in Northwestern Belize generally and therefore signifies ritual practice of great import. The interment of remains and grave goods are associated with the structure 2032 in the 2000 sector. The location, presence of burning, and differential inhumation signifies the importance of this structure and are hypothesized to have contributed to a dedication or termination ritual of the associated structure. We explore the use of burning and child inhumation practices as a ritual method for structure commemoration.

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): 22676