Only Murders in the Cavespace? Considering Archaeological Assumptions about Human Interments

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Misinformation and Misrepresentation Part 1: Reconsidering “Human Sacrifice,” Religion, Slavery, Modernity, and Other European-Derived Concepts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

As if by default, deposits of human remains in caves and cenotes in the southern Maya Lowlands dating to the Late and Terminal Classic periods have been interpreted by many archaeologists as sacrificial victims. The position seems predicated on an assumption of both the accuracy and universality—across time, space, and variations in cultural fabric—of colonial period descriptions of ceremonies associated with rain propitiation centering on cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula of the northern Lowlands. Focusing primarily on caves in Belize, we briefly review the basis for archaeological claims of ceremonial homicide and some well-attested examples thereof. Using this as our baseline, we then explore a case example from a large, commingled deposit of skeletal remains in Actun Kabul. We propose that rather than the product of sacrifice, the age distributions of individuals included there and in other caves of the region, along with features of the broader context of interment (including culture-historical), best reflect the complex funerary ritual of high-status and elite Maya families of the Classic period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Misinformation and Misrepresentation Part 1: Reconsidering “Human Sacrifice,” Religion, Slavery, Modernity, and Other European-Derived Concepts

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38323.0