Postclassic political conflict and isotope analysis in the central Peten lakes area, Guatemala
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6033745 |
|---|---|
| Authors | P M Rice (0000-0001-8159-1989, Santa Fe College), Andrew Sharpe (0000-0003-3568-1734, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, corresponding author), William N Duncan (East Tennessee State University), George Kamenov (0000-0002-6041-6687, University of Florida), George D Kamenov, J Krigbaum (0000-0003-3113-7061, University of Florida) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 1-15 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ancient Mesoamerica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0956-5361 • E-ISSN: 1469-1787 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0956536125100618 |
| OpenAlex | W4412881900 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
Isotopes of strontium, oxygen, and carbon were analyzed in human tooth enamel from two Postclassic sites in the central Peten lakes region, Guatemala, to examine patterns of mobility and diet during a time of social unrest. Excavations at both sites, Ixlu and Zacpeten, have revealed evidence for purposeful dismemberment and interment of individuals. This study examines a possible shrine surrounded by rows of skulls at Ixlu, and a mass grave of comingled individuals interred at Zacpeten. The interments coincide with a period of conflict and warfare between two dominant polities, Itza and Kowoj. The 14 sampled individuals at Ixlu were young males, six of whom isotopically match the Maya Mountains of central Belize/southeastern Peten. At Zacpeten, isotopic signatures of adults and children (n = 68) suggested that many were either local or came from other parts of the Maya lowlands, but not the Maya Mountains. In the Late Postclassic, the Zacpeten individuals were exhumed, defiled, and deposited in a mass grave, probably by Kowojs. Although temporally and geographically related, the Ixlu and Zacpeten burials represent two distinct cases of ritual violence that reflect the tumultuous political landscape of the Postclassic period
Archaeology · Geography · Political science · Politics · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Law · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
Late Lowland Maya civilization
Strontium Isotopes and the Study of Human Mobility Among the Ancient Maya
Partible, Permeable, and Relational Bodies in a Maya Mass Grave
The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom
Stable Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen Reflect Marine and Terrestrial Components of Prehistoric Human Diet
Oxygen isotopes in bioarchaeology
The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands
Maya Warfare, Symbols, and Ritual Landscapes
Human Sacrifice in Late Postclassic Maya Iconography and Texts
Immigration to Tikal, Guatemala
Violence, desecration, and urban collapse at the Postclassic Maya political capital of Mayapán
Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in human tooth enamel
Strontium Isotopes from the Earth to the Archaeological Skeleton
Heads, Skulls, and Sacred Scaffolds. New Studies on Ritual Body Processing and Display in Chichen Itza and Beyond
Ancient Maya movement in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, NW Belize
Local water resource variability and oxygen isotopic reconstructions of mobility
A preliminary multi-isotope assessment of human mobility and diet in pre-Columbian Panama
Prehispanic Maya diet and mobility at Nakum, Guatemala
The Origins of Early Colonial Cows at San Bernabé, Guatemala
Spatial variation of strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) in the Maya region
Trace elements in modern and archaeological human teeth
Reconstructing ancient Maya animal trade through strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis
A Postclassic Maya mass grave from Zacpetén, Guatemala
Collagen Quality Indicators for Radiocarbon Dating of Bones
Brief communication
Place of origin of the sacrificial victims in the sacred Cenote, Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Human biology in the Classic Maya collapse
Victims of the Victims
Late Postclassic Lowland Maya politico-ritual architecture
Early Colonialism and Population Movement at the Mission San Bernabé, Guatemala
Zacpeten Structure 719
The Exemplary Center of the Late Postclassic Kowoj Maya
Bioarchaeological Analysis of Sacrificial Victims from a Postclassic Maya Temple from Ixlu, el Peten, Guatemala
Mayapan Yucatan Mexico
Late Maya factionalism and alliances
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |