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Past, Present and Future Perspectives in Maya Bioarchaeology: A View from Yucatan, Mexico

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Archaeological Human Remains

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Archaeology ((BRIEFSARCHAE))

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Abstract

This chapter explores the core topic of this volume—i.e. global research perspectives in the study of archaeologically retrieved human remains—from the Peninsula of Yucatan. Being part of Mexico and at the same time a cultural component of the broader Maya area, which spreads over four other countries further south, Yucatan constitutes a unique academic setting, where Mayanist skeletal research shows distinctive (ethno) historical, cultural and political underpinnings. The chapter explores each of these components, which have come to influence past and present research agendas. Drawing from the current status of studies of archaeological human remains, at the intersection of different academic traditions and political realities, we provide viable perspectives regarding present and future approaches that combine population and cultural data sets and propose guidelines that conform to socially sensitive, integrated, and theoretically informed scientific undertakings in archaeologically retrieved skeletal research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term “biocultural” refers to a large array of features in the human skeletal remains that are linked to cultural elements despite their biological substrate (Tiesler 1999).

  2. 2.

    “Bioarchaeology” may be described broadly as a thematic specialization in archaeology or physical anthropology that studies human remains in their context and as part of the archaeological body of information employing explicit biocultural approximations (see Blakely 1977; Buikstra 1997; Powell et al. 1991).

  3. 3.

    Fortunately, it would be a mistake to think the modern Mayas are unaware of the origins and historical transcendence of their traditions and languages, a perception that has been fostered in recent decades by governmental programmes.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Vera Tiesler & Andrea Cucina

Authors
  1. Vera Tiesler
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  2. Andrea Cucina
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Correspondence to Vera Tiesler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Barra O’Donnabhain

  2. Department of Anthropology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    María Cecilia Lozada

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Tiesler, V., Cucina, A. (2014). Past, Present and Future Perspectives in Maya Bioarchaeology: A View from Yucatan, Mexico. In: O’Donnabhain, B., Lozada, M. (eds) Archaeological Human Remains. SpringerBriefs in Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06370-6_12

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