Sacrifice and the Skeleton: Mortuary Archaeology at Los Guachimontones

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This presentation examines the mortuary practices in excavated burials at Late Formative and Early Classic (300 BCE–400 CE) Los Guachimontones in Jalisco, Mexico. This site, with features such as shaft tombs and circular public architecture, is exemplary of the unusual regional cultural tradition of ancient West Mexico. An analysis of the mortuary remains found in both public and residential contexts across Los Guachimontones reveals the sacrificial practices associated with this monumental ceremonial center. Beneath the earthen architecture are group burials, with specific types of individuals (e.g., warriors, those with certain congenital illnesses and deformities, and children) targeted for violent deaths, symbolic arrangements of remains, and possible human consumption. The

choice of sacrificial offerings and the cosmological structures seen in the burial arrangements connect Los Guachimontones to ideologies found in the broader Mesoamerican sphere. The burials also demonstrate the emergence of sociopolitical complexity at the site, with lineage-based leadership capable of directing the construction of monumental architecture, alongside sacrificial and ceremonial activities to emphasize and

maintain the power of the sacred center.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32017