Mortuary Landscapes and Placemaking through Veneration at the Maya Site of Colha

Summary

Traces of veneration are sedimented within the landscape and the collective memory of its occupants, transforming these spaces into places. Such palimpsests become potent, which, in the case of mortuary landscapes, can manifest in increasingly complex burial rituals through time. The 2017 excavations at Colha revealed a series of 9 interments in the main plaza of the 2000 sector, yielding a minimum number of 13 individuals. This mortuary area initially utilized during the Middle Preclassic was reused during the Late Preclassic, with some later interments cutting into those of the preceding period, as suggested by associated practices and material accoutrements. Zooarchaeological evidence indicates that although certain taxa, including deer, were exploited throughout the entire temporal span, others, specifically ichthyofauna, are characteristic of Late Classic mortuary contexts. The placement of elements from this taxonomic group within vessel burials alongside commingled human individuals is associated with the elaboration of mortuary practices more broadly, which includes complex secondary depositions and increasingly specialized craft production of grave goods. We argue that this change, which corresponds to an expansion of stone tool workshops and population increase at Colha, can be considered an act of veneration specific to this space -- an act of placemaking.

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): 21492