An Osteobiography of Tomb Op. 42, Ent. 5 from Copán, Honduras

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Marking and Making of Social Persons: Embodied Understandings in the Archaeologies of Childhood and Adolescence" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This research constructs an osteobiological narrative of two females and a male from Copán, Honduras, who were placed together within a Classic period (AD 600–822) tomb in the residential group Salamar (8L-10) Op. 42. Utilizing mortuary and isotopic data, this case study emphasizes aspects of personhood reflective of perceived sex, gender, and identity within the culturally diverse Copán society. Aspects of personhood, including gender roles, are embodied on the skeleton, enabling researchers to identify life history events and reconstruct daily practices. An osteobiographical approach best explores the personal journey of each individual by providing highly specific context reflecting individual social and environmental experiences. This case study examines the lives of these three individuals, hypothesizing how they became entangled in their death and how these stories fit into Copán society as a whole.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Marking and Making of Social Persons: Embodied Understandings in the Archaeologies of Childhood and Adolescence   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39587.0