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New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society

  • Book
  • © 2007

Overview

Editors:
  1. Vera Tiesler

    1. Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico

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  2. Andrea Cucina

    1. Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Brings together an international group of contributors to report on human sacrifice and body manipulation in Mayan culture
  • Can be used comparatively in other cultures which had similar practices
  • Includes explicitly bioarchaeological approaches

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology (IDCA)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Postsacrificial Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society: An Introduction

    • Andrea Cucina, Vera Tiesler
    Pages 1-13

  3. Funerary or Nonfunerary? New References in Identifying Ancient Maya Sacrificial and Postsacrificial Behaviors from Human Assemblages

    • Vera Tiesler
    Pages 14-44

  4. The Creation and Sacrifice of Witches in Classic Maya Society

    • Lisa J. Lucero, Sherry A. Gibbs
    Pages 45-73

  5. Empowered and Disempowered During the Late to Terminal Classic Transition: Maya Burial and Termination Rituals in the Sibun Valley, Belize

    • Eleanor Harrison-Buck, Patricia A. McAnany, Rebecca Storey
    Pages 74-101

  6. Posthumous Body Treatments and Ritual Meaning in the Classic Period Northern Petén: A Taphonomic Approach

    • Cecilia Medina Martín, Mirna SÁnchez Vargas
    Pages 102-119

  7. Human Sacrifice in Late Postclassic Maya Iconography and Texts

    • Gabrielle Vail, Christine HernÁndez
    Pages 120-164

  8. Skeletons, Skulls, and Bones in the Art of Chichén Itzá

    • Virginia E. Miller
    Pages 165-189

  9. Sacrifice and Ritual Body Mutilation in Postclassical Maya Society: Taphonomy of the Human Remains from Chichén Itzá's Cenote Sagrado

    • Guillermo de Anda AlanÍs
    Pages 190-208

  10. Sacred Spaces and Human Funerary and Nonfunerary Placements in Champotón, Campeche, During the Postclassic Period

    • Araceli Hurtado Cen, Aleida Cetina Bastida, Vera Tiesler, William J. Folan
    Pages 209-231

  11. Human Sacrificial Rites Among the Maya of Mayapán: A Bioarchaeological Perspective

    • Stanley Serafin, Carlos Peraza Lope
    Pages 232-250

  12. Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Social Status of Skeletal Remains from Nonfunerary and “Problematical” Contexts

    • Andrea Cucina, Vera Tiesler
    Pages 251-262

  13. Victims of Sacrifice: Isotopic Evidence for Place of Origin

    • T. Douglas Price, James H. Burton, Lori E. Wright, Christine D. White, Fred Longstaffe
    Pages 263-292

  14. The Bioarchaeology of Maya Sacrifice

    • Jane E. Buikstra
    Pages 293-307

  15. Back Matter

    Pages 309-319
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Keywords

About this book

The central goal of this book is to contribute to the timely discussion and understanding of Maya sacrifice and related posthumous body manipulation.

Most school children in the US learn about the Maya and their practices based on their cultural and religious beliefs in their Social Studies classes. But a number of new sites have been discovered, giving an interdisciplinary group of researchers a channel to discuss these acts and their meaning.

The editors bring together not only archaeologists but anthropologists, forensic anthropologists, art historians and bioarchaeologists, giving the volume a more complete perspective on these sites and the material culture and biological evidence found there.

The field of archaeology is growing to include the physical remains of ritual practice along with the material remains and this book can be seen as an example of who the study of ancient civilizations can be more comprehensive. Additionally, this is an international volume with scholars from the area studied which is becoming more and more important in archaeological research. This will be of interest to students studying Mayan and Mesoamerican culture as well as those interested in bioarchaeology and human sacrifice.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico

    Vera Tiesler, Andrea Cucina

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