Reinterpreting a Sacrificial Ossuary at Chichen Itza

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Studies in Mesoamerican Subterranean Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

During the widening of the air strip at Chichen Itza in 1967, a small subterranean chamber, located some 300 m north of the Cenote of Sacrifice, was discovered. The feature, variably called a cave or a chultun, contained two small chambers, the larger of which was only 4 x 5 m. These chambers contained human skeletal material, a portion of which was removed and the collection divided between Chichen Itza and Merida. The collection was finally reunited by the creation of the Physical Anthropology Laboratory at the Centro Regional del Sureste and analyzed by Lourdes Marquez after 1980. Despite the small size of the feature, Marquez identified 109 individuals, 97 of whom were subadults. During the 2018 season, the Gran Acuífero Maya project interviewed the discoverer of the chamber in order to obtain additional details on the archaeological context of the material. Additionally, investigations of similar features allows us to clarify the context of the find.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Studies in Mesoamerican Subterranean Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23626