Bioarchaeological investigation of ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico

Bibliographic Data

ID8312435
AuthorsStanley Serafin (0000-0001-6971-1132, School of Human Health and Social Sciences Central Queensland University Rockhampton QLD 4702 Australia, corresponding author), Carlos Peraza Lopes (0000-0003-0356-5691, National Institute of Anthropology and History), Carlos Peraza Lope (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia—Centro INAH Yucatan Merida Yucatan 97000 Mexico), Eunice Uc González (0009-0009-6075-0739, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia—Centro INAH Yucatan Merida Yucatan 97000 Mexico)
Year2014
Volume154
Issue1
Pages140-151
Publication date2014-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.22490
PMID24519220
OpenAlexW1895488965
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited51

This study investigates evidence of changes and continuities in ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico from the Middle Preclassic (600–300 BC) to the Postclassic (AD 1050–1542) through bioarchaeological analysis of cranial and projectile trauma. It is hypothesized that the frequency of violence increases before the Classic Maya collapse and remains high during the Postclassic period. It is also hypothesized that the flat, open terrain was conducive to warfare and resulted in higher trauma frequencies than in other parts of the Maya area. Results show that the frequency of cranial trauma decreases before the Classic collapse and increases in the Postclassic, partially matching the expected chronological trends. The frequency of cranial trauma does not differ significantly from other Maya regions but the pattern does: for all periods, males have more healed injuries than females and they are concentrated on the left side of the anterior of the skull. Some injuries appear to be from small points hafted in wooden clubs. In addition, projectile trauma is evident in a scapula with an embedded arrowhead tip, the first such case reported in a Maya skeleton. Overall, these results suggest greater reliance on open combat and less on raids in this region compared with other parts of the Maya area, possibly due to the flat, open terrain, though the identification of perimortem trauma in both women and men indicates surprise raids on settlements were also practiced. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:140–151, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Archaeology · Crania · Cranial trauma · Geography · Maya · Skull · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Geology · Medicine · Paleontology · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Surgery

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