Graduation Year
2020
Graduation Month
May
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
School or Department
Anthropology
Major
Anthropology – Forensic Anthropology
Faculty Mentor Department
Anthropology
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Kirsten Green-Mink
Keywords
Maya, Osteology, Bioarchaeology, Belize, Lower Dover, Mortuary
Subject Categories
Biological and Physical Anthropology
Abstract
In 2017, John Walden led an excavation of the Tutu Uitz Na intermediate elite center, found in the Maya site of Lower Dover, Belize. He and his team uncovered two burials, designated SG1-BU2 and SG1-BU3. Their initial report claims that there were three individuals, all sacrificially bound and killed within an eastern triadic shrine. In 2019, Dr. Kirsten Green-Mink and Justine Bye, both of the University of Montana, re-analyzed the Tutu Uitz Na burials and performed a comprehensive bioarchaeological analysis. SG1-BU2 was found to contain three individuals – 2 adults and 1 subadult. SG1-BU3 contained one adult, likely of high status as they presented cranial and dental modifications. None of the individuals were found to have any binding material, nor did the layout of the skeletal elements strongly validate a sacrificial theory. We propose that alternative scenarios be considered in explaining the presence of these interments in the Tutu Uitz Na eastern triadic shrine. The purpose of the 2019 analysis is to better explain mortuary behavior and the identities of those interred within the highly ritualized space of the eastern triadic shrine.
Honors College Research Project
Yes
GLI Capstone Project
no
Recommended Citation
Bye, Justine Marie, "Re-Interpreting a Complex Maya Burial at Tutu Uitz Na" (2020). Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts. 265.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/265
Included in
© Copyright 2020 Justine Marie Bye