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Excavation and Curation Strategies for Complex Burials in Tropical Environments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2019

Carolyn Freiwald
Carolyn Freiwald*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi, 544 Lamar, 615 Grove Loop, University, MS 38677, USA
*
(crfreiwa@olemiss.edu)
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Abstract

Bioarchaeologists often are faced with the challenge of managing field excavations and lab analyses of skeletal remains at the same time—along with student and staff training and curation of osteological remains—and cannot be in two places at once. This article presents strategies for the recovery of human remains useful for large projects where multiple burials must be recovered simultaneously, remains are poorly preserved, and complex burial practices such as seated body positions and commingled remains are present. The excavation and curation strategies are presented in the context of the seated burial practice in the Maya region, a funerary tradition that requires detailed documentation of the burial as well as the body in order to understand its meaning. Classic period (AD 250-900) seated burials do not fit a single biological profile; in fact, the taphonomic profile of one seated individual at Actuncan, Belize, suggests a closer relationship to body processing and/or context than to status. Tropical and semitropical environmental conditions also require modified curation procedures, which present ethical challenges as well as physical ones.

Los bioarqueólogos frecuentemente tienen el desafío de gestionar la excavación y el análisis de laboratorio de restos esqueléticos --además de las responsabilidades de entrenar estudiantes y personal y de llevar a cabo la curación de restos osteológicos -- y no pueden estar en dos lugares al mismo tiempo. Este trabajo presenta unas estrategias para la recuperación de restos humanos en proyectos arqueólogos grandes con excavaciones simultáneas de más de un entierro, restos óseos mal preservados y tradiciones funerarias complejas tales como posiciones sentadas o sepulcros con más de un individuo. Se presentan estrategias de excavación y curación tomando como estudio de caso los entierros sentados en la región Maya, una tradición funeraria que requiere documentación detallada tanto del entierro como del cuerpo. Los entierros sentados del periodo Clásico no tienen el mismo perfil biológico, y el análisis de un individuo sentado enterrado en Actuncan, Belice, sugiere una relación íntima con el procesamiento del cuerpo o el contexto más que el estatus de la persona fallecida. Ambientes tropicales y subtropicales también requieren modificaciones en cuanto a la curación, lo que presenta retos tanto éticos como físicos.

Keywords

StrontiumMayaisotopesseated burialbioarchaeologyestroncioMayasisótoposentierro sentadobioarqueología
Type
Articles
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 7 , Special Issue 1: The Practice and Ethics of Skeletal Conservation , February 2019 , pp. 10 - 22
Copyright
Copyright 2019 © Society for American Archaeology 

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