Embodied Identities and Moving Bodies: The Archaeology and Bioarchaeology of Ninth-Century Cultural Contacts from the Perspective of K’anwitznal (Ucanal), Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Movement of People and Ideas in Eastern Mesoamerica during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries CE: A Multidisciplinary Approach Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Fifty years ago, Maya scholars argued that peoples from the Gulf Coast invaded and settled several sites in the Southern Maya Lowlands in the ninth century, including the site of Ucanal. These invasions were thought to have led to the collapse of Southern Maya polities. Since these early assessments, archaeological research at the site by Proyecto Atlas de Guatemala and later by the Proyecto Arqueólogico Ucanal have uncovered a more textured understanding of the movements and embodied affiliations of peoples living at the site during this time. This paper presents new findings from our archaeological investigations at the site that combine a focus on bodily ornamentation and everyday practices with isotope studies of human teeth. It reveals that ninth-century inhabitants may have had important links to the Gulf Coast, but they also came from and embraced connections with other regions of the Maya area and beyond. Rather than spurring a total collapse, these new interregional relationships were part of a dynamic flourishing of activity that continued into the Postclassic period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Movement of People and Ideas in Eastern Mesoamerica during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries CE: A Multidisciplinary Approach Part I   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36249.0