Heads, Skulls, and Sacred Scaffolds: New Studies on Ritual Body Processing and Display among the Ancient Maya of Yucatán

Summary

This is an abstract from the "New Perspectives on Ritual Violence and Related Human Body Treatments in Ancient Mesoamerica" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Among late Maya religious complexes, Chichen Itza stands as a monumental landmark. Among the enigmatic aspects of Chichen’s ceremonial innovations count skull racks, where the heads of sacrificed victims were exhibited in rows. It was the first Mesoamerican city to erect a permanent, decorated stone platform for the display of impaled heads, anticipating common Late Postclassic practice. Here, we explore skulls with marks of impalement and mandibles with perimortem trauma from both the Sacred Cenote and the Caracol complex, as well as images of skulls and bones. Our combined skeletal and iconographic data confirm increased head processing and exhibition at Chichen when compared to Classic period Maya centers. Nevertheless, these were not foreign introductions, but appear to have been practiced earlier on a minor scale at Terminal Classic Puuc centers. We posit that the exhibition of heads at these sites was a response to the religious and militaristic demands of a new era, culminating in Chichen Itza’s dramatic public displays.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• New Perspectives on Ritual Violence and Related Human Body Treatments in Ancient Mesoamerica

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32164