Unveiling Ancient Maya Health and Well-being: Osteological Insights and Social Disparities from Altar de Sacrificios and the Upper Usumacinta Confluence Zone

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Repositioning Altar de Sacrificios on the Ancient Maya Landscape" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Previous investigations at Altar de Sacrificios by Harvard University in the 1960s uncovered 140 individuals from diverse residential and ceremonial contexts concentrated around the site epicenter. Recent excavations by PAALS have increased this sample to over 200 individuals from more dispersed spatial contexts in the Upper Usumacinta Confluence Zone (UUCZ) that span the Late Preclassic to Terminal Classic periods. Osteological analysis reveals various paleopathologies across the population such as porotic hyperostosis, buccal abscess, cavities, periodontal and periostitis infections. These data are used to calculate health indices for the entire sample to examine variation in the population health and disparities in health status over time within the UUCZ. In addition, we describe the dental decorations and other bodily practices that were observed throughout the burial population. Overall, these results reveal a complex relationship between health, wealth, and social status within this ancient Maya community which offer important insights to characterize human well-being. These data permit comparisons between the site core and peripheral settlements, as well as longitudinal analyses across the Preclassic and Classic periods.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Repositioning Altar de Sacrificios on the Ancient Maya Landscape   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50802