Maya mortuary landscapes, Central Belize

The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place: Ideology, Power and Meaning in Maya Mortuary Contexts, edited by Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 77-106. New York: Springer Press., 2014

Bioarchaeological analysis of mortuary deposits from Je’reftheel, a small cave located in the Roaring Creek Works of central Belize, focused on characterizing the nature of mortuary activities conducted in the cave to determine whether the site was used for funerary or sacrificial purposes. In contrasting caves and cenotes, ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and epigraphic accounts of cave use by the Maya fairly consistently mention mortuary events that occur in caves, as funerary. The combined osteological and isotopic analyses from Je’reftheel are also consistent with models of funerary behavior among the Maya. The skeletal deposits comprise both primary, articulated bodies, and secondary deposits. Other data suggest that most of the individuals were of local origin and may have been closely related. Together, these results provide a strong analogy to funerary behavior documented in tombs throughout the Maya region and beyond.

Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 2013

Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize offer a unique view of ancient Maya cave ritual through the complete recovery and analysis of all artifacts within the site's two small activity areas. In general, the assemblage contains many of the same types of objects documented from other nearby caves and rockshelters. However, the nearly 1700 ceramics sherds showed almost no refits, demonstrating that sherds were deposited at the site individually, rather than as complete vessels. The human bone assemblage represents three or four individuals, with the majority of the bones comprising a single individual, and all of these were deposited as incomplete secondary interments. Analogies for this depositional behavior based on archaeological and ethnographic studies suggest that this rockshelter may represent a waypoint within a ritual circuit composed of multiple locations over which fragments of complete items such as ceramic vessels and secondary burials were spread.

The Western Belize Regional Cave Project A Report of the 2000 Field Season, 2001

Journal of Latin American Anthropology, 2008

Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 2013

Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize offer a unique view of ancient Maya cave ritual through the complete recovery and analysis of all artifacts within the site’s two small activity areas. In general, the assemblage contains many of the same types of objects documented from other nearby caves and rockshelters. However, the nearly 1700 ceramics sherds showed almost no refits, demonstrating that sherds were deposited at the site individually, rather than as complete vessels. The human bone assemblage represents three or four individuals, with the majority of the bones comprising a single individual, and all of these were deposited as incomplete secondary interments. Analogies for this depositional behavior based on archaeological and ethnographic studies suggest that this rockshelter may represent a waypoint within a ritual circuit composed of multiple locations over which fragments of complete items such as ceramic vessels and secondary burials were spread.

This dissertation addresses common trends in ancient Maya burials recovered through excavations of the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) in northwest Belize. The scope of this research includes 123 individuals (of the approximately 150 individuals that have been recovered through PfBAP excavations) from 12 different archaeological sites and 1,200 years of prehistoric Maya society (spanning from 400 B.C. until A.D. 900). My examination combines osteological and contextual information from these human burials in a bioarchaeological analysis of Maya mortuary practices. Biological sex, age at death, grave type, body positioning, grave goods, and other characteristics are compared across three main categories represented in the data: Site Type, Time Period, and Geographic Region. Additional data comparisons included in this dissertation consider the various burial characteristics mentioned above by sex and age at death of the decedents. By collecting and compiling 25 years’ worth of PfBAP burial data, this analysis successfully identified various trends in Maya burial practices in northwest Belize, many of which present opportunities for further research in the regard for life and death among these prehistoric peoples of Central America.

Peter Richards and John Front Cover: Photo of the female skeletal remains at Actun Tunich Hill Muknal (Photograph courtesy Jaime Awe).

Latin American Antiquity 23 (4): 611–628 (2012)

T he entire Maya lowlands of Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize rests on a limestone base, a type of bedrock known for its ability to form and support caves. These features, long known to investigators, have recently assumed a new prominence as key elements of the prehispanic Maya cultural landscape. Research focusing on the place of caves in the Maya worldview has emphasized the central role they played, not only as entrances to the sacred, animate Earth, the source of life and fertility (Brady and Prufer 2005b), and as the settings for a variety of rituals (Brady 1989(Brady , 1996, but also as places that validated a group's claim to territory and legitimized rulers' authority over that area (García-Zambrano 1994). A number of projects now routinely feature cave explorations as part of their site and regional investigations. Contemporary research on prehispanic Maya landscapes has focused on caves as core features of the cultural geography. Investigations within a number of large caves have suggested that they served as the loci for important rituals, legitimized inhabitants' claims to their territory, and helped establish the authority of a site's ruling elite. The ubiquity and centrality of caves in the Maya worldview raises questions about what happened in regions where large caves did not naturally form. Recent investigations at the site of Maax Na in northern Belize suggest that small caves, despite their diminutive size, still functioned to establish legitimacy and uphold power. The results serve to demonstrate the pervasive power of key ideological concepts in shaping the cultural landscape and indicate the need to take these into account in documenting landmarks at Maya sites, as even the less imposing ones may have been important to their inhabitants.

Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 2023

Approximately 150 human burials have been reported from excavations at 12 prehistoric Maya sites located within the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP). Of these, 115 are documented from residential settings. This dispersed sample of burials from varied Maya communities provides a unique perspective of scale, allowing for an assessment of household, community, and regional practices and customs, mortuary contexts, and cultural continuity. As a uniquely sustained research program, the PfBAP allows for inherently rich bioarchaeological research. This paper provides a brief overview of past work on human remains by PfBAP researchers, addresses recent and ongoing studies in the area, and assesses how bioarchaeological investigations can help to illuminate regional and temporal patterning among ancient Maya individuals from northwest Belize. Finally, we offer insight into the possibilities for future lines of inquiry involving this burial population.