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DENTAL MODIFICATION IN THE POSTCLASSIC POPULATION FROM LAMANAI, BELIZE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2006

Jocelyn S. Williams  and
Christine D. White
Jocelyn S. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Social Science Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada
Christine D. White
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Social Science Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada
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Abstract

Dental modification, present in 36% of the adult burial sample (N = 61) dating to the Postclassic period at Lamanai, Belize, was analyzed to determine its association with status and sex using both biological dietary indicators (stable-isotope and dental-pathology data) and archaeological indicators (grave location and architecture). There was no association between diet and modification. Males and females shared many of the same modification types, but some were sex-distinctive. The frequency of modification differed by archaeological context. For example, modification was present only in individuals buried in ceremonial structures, presumed to represent high status. Types of modification differed between Belizean sites and those from other regions. These data support the hypothesis that dental modification may have been a means of identification with a lineage, polity, ruler, or region.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , January 2006 , pp. 139 - 151
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

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