A Thriving Non-Royal Lineage at Blue Creek; Evidence From a Sequence of Burials, Caches and Architecture

thomas guderjan; colleen hanratty

A Thriving Non-Royal Lineage at Blue Creek; Evidence From a Sequence of Burials, Caches and Architecture

Part of the Blue Creek Central Precinct project

Author(s): thomas guderjan; colleen hanratty

Year: 2002

Summary

As the fortunes of the Maya city of Blue Creek (Belize) rose in the Late Preclassic and Early Classic, so did those of its elite, non-royals. In one elite residence, the Structure 37 Plazuela, we see evidence of a lineage marked by the interment of an early venerated ancestor, possibly its founder. Later, as this lineage became important on a community-wide basis and as the community itself grew in wealth and stature, another individual was interred nearby, bearing accoutrements of a shaman. While clearly not a royal person, this individual’s tomb indicates high status and probable direct descent from the lineage founder. Furthermore, these individuals were celebrated with the construction of a shrine on top of their internments. The evidence at Structure 34 shows the residents of the plazuela to have been a long-term lineage whose fortunes were entwined with the overall growth of Blue Creek and that their collective memory incorporated the aggrandizement of their founder and ancestors.

Cite this Record

A Thriving Non-Royal Lineage at Blue Creek; Evidence From a Sequence of Burials, Caches and Architecture. thomas guderjan, colleen hanratty. 2002 ( tDAR id: 6708) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8FX787K