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Maya Multiples: Individuals, Entries, and Tombs in Structure A34 of Caracol, Belize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Diane Z. Chase  and
Arlen F. Chase
Diane Z. Chase
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816
Arlen F. Chase
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816
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Abstract

It is commonly assumed in both the public and professional perceptions of Maya archaeology that tombs serve as time capsules, each representing a single event, and that burials of single individuals were the normal interment type, at least during the Late Classic period (A.D. 550-800). The investigation of Caracol Structure A34 provides excellent examples of tomb re-entry as well as of multiple-individual interment in sealed contexts, both of which contradict current assumptions. Analyses of the excavations also embody a true conjunctive approach by utilizing stratigraphy, osteology, artifacts, and epigraphy. When the archaeological data from Structure A34 are placed within a broader context, single-event single-individual tombs are shown to be but one manner of interment at Caracol. Although the large number of multiple-individual burials and the possibility of widespread tomb re-entry at Caracol may appear aberrant when compared with general interment practices at other Maya sites, the inferred funerary rites are well within the bounds of worldwide cultural practices relating to death and burial.

En la percepción tanto pública como profesional de la arqueología Maya, se supone por lo general que las tumbas funcionaron como cápsulas de tiempo, de las cuales cada una representa un evento único, y que el enterramiento de individuos sólos fue el tipo normal de sepultura, al menos durante el período Clásico Tardío (550-800 d.C.). Investigaciones realizadas en la estructura A34 de Caracol proporcionan excelentes ejemplos de tumbas de re-enterramiento, como también del entierro de múltiples individuos en contextos sellados y esto contradice las suposiciones de la actualidad. El análisis de las excavaciones involucra una verdadera aproximación de conjunto al emplear estratigrafía, osteología, artefactos, y epigrafía. Cuando consideramos los datos arqueológicos procedentes de la estructura A34 en un contexto mas ámplio, observamos que las tumbas de un solo individuo que representan un solo evento constan de un solo un tipo de enterramiento en Caracol. Aunque la gran cantidad de entierros de múltiples individuos y la posibilidad de tumbas de re-enterramiento en Caracol pudieran parecer aberrantes cuando se comparan con las prácticas de enterramiento reportadas en otros sitios Mayas, los ritos funerarios inferidos están dentro de los límites de las prácticas culturales a nivel mundial relacionadas con la muerte y el enterramiento.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 1996 , pp. 61 - 79
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1996

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