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Mortuary Practices and the Social Order at La Quemada, Zacatecas, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Ben A. Nelson ,
J. Andrew Darling  and
David A. Kice
Ben A. Nelson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, 380 M.F.A.C, Buffalo, NY 14261
J. Andrew Darling
Affiliation:
Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079
David A. Kice
Affiliation:
P-III Associates, Inc., 2212 South West Temple, Suite 21, Salt Lake City, UT 84115-2645
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Abstract

Epiclassic occupants of the site of La Quemada left the disarticulated remains of 11-14 humans in an apparently sacred structure outside the monumental core of the site. Several lines of evidence are reviewed to generate propositions about the ritual meanings and functions of the bones. A comparative analysis reveals the complexity of mortuary practices in northern and western Mexico, and permits the suggestion that these particular remains were those of revered ancestors or community members. The sacred structure is seen as a charnel house, in which the more ancient tradition of ancestor worship expressed in shaft tombs was essentially perpetuated above ground. Hostile social relations are clearly suggested, however, by other categories of bone deposits. Recognition of the rich variability of mortuary displays leads to questions about their role in the maintenance of the social order.

Los grupos que ocuparon el sitio de La Quemada durante el período Epiclásico dejaron tras de sí los restos desarticulados de once a catorce individuos en un templo ubicado fuera del núcleo monumental del sitio. En este trabajo se revisan varias clases de evidencia a fin de proponer una hipótesis acerca del significado y función rituales de los huesos. Un análisis comparativo revela la complejidad de las costumbres funerarias del norte y el oeste de México, y permite sugerir que los restos humanos en cuestión eran los de miembros venerados de la comunidad. El templo se considera como una estructura en la cual la antigua tradición de veneración de los antepasados, inicialmente manifestada en el Preclásico en las tumbas de tiro, fue perpetuada en una forma evolucionada. Sin embargo, otras categorías de depósitos óseos sugieren claramente la existencia de relaciones hostiles entre los habitantes del sitio. El reconocimiento de la rica variabilidad de despliegues mortuorios abre las puertas para la investigación de su función en el mantenimiento del orden social.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , December 1992 , pp. 298 - 315
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1992

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