Maya Pilgrimage to Interactive Places: Human Bones in Caves at Mensabak, Chiapas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Recent Archaeological Investigations in Chiapas, Mexico" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This presentation focuses on the anthropology of pilgrimage as a journey to places outside of everyday realms. For Maya societies, pilgrimages are important for maintaining the relationships between people and nonhuman persons linked to the ritual landscape. In this context, the presence of human bones in caves around the lakes at Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico, is related to perceptions of personhood and the dividual in ancient, historic, and contemporary Maya societies. We present research on rituals with human bone and artifacts in burial caves near water and rock art, which are shrines associated with various types of persons. We incorporate ethnographic insights from Lacandon Maya regarding the cave shrines, human burials, and nonhuman persons to shed light on these important otherworldly sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Recent Archaeological Investigations in Chiapas, Mexico   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39640.0