The site of Tipu in west central Belize provided a foothold for Spanish missionaries in the 17th century. The effects of contact on adults among the 550 burials recovered in the cemetery there have been well studied, but the children have received less attention. Therefore, this study examined juvenile health through four markers: Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH), a non-specific marker of health disruptions; Porotic Hyperostosis (PH), an indicator of anemia; and Periostitis, an indicator of infection. Some 131 individuals were evaluated using criteria developed by Steckel, Sciulli, and Rose (2002). The results were compared to Late Classic Copán (Storey, Marques Morfin, and Smith 2002).
For LEH, 47% Tipu juveniles exhibited episodes as compared to 85% at Copán. Periostitis at 7% was extremely low at Tipu whereas over half of the Copán subadults had lesions. In contrast, Copan had a much lower prevalence of PH than Tipu with rates of 16% and 84%, respectively. For most indicators at Tipu, frequencies increased with age of the individual, a pattern not seen at Copán.
These results suggest Spanish presence Tipu may have affected the overall health of the population in terms of diet, whereas Copán’s health was more likely affected by the expansive population size, a finding seen at several other earlier Maya sites, including Cuello and K’axob. Overall, it appears that the Tipu Maya were able to somewhat mitigate the effects of contact during the first 150 years until the site was forcibly abandoned by the Spanish in 1707.
","abstract_html":"<p>The site of Tipu in west central Belize provided a foothold for Spanish missionaries in the 17<sup>th</sup> century. The effects of contact on adults among the 550 burials recovered in the cemetery there have been well studied, but the children have received less attention. Therefore, this study examined juvenile health through four markers: Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH), a non-specific marker of health disruptions; Porotic Hyperostosis (PH), an indicator of anemia; and Periostitis, an indicator of infection. Some 131 individuals were evaluated using criteria developed by Steckel, Sciulli, and Rose (2002). The results were compared to Late Classic Copán (Storey, Marques Morfin, and Smith 2002).</p> <p>For LEH, 47% Tipu juveniles exhibited episodes as compared to 85% at Copán. Periostitis at 7% was extremely low at Tipu whereas over half of the Copán subadults had lesions. In contrast, Copan had a much lower prevalence of PH than Tipu with rates of 16% and 84%, respectively. For most indicators at Tipu, frequencies increased with age of the individual, a pattern not seen at Copán.</p> <p>These results suggest Spanish presence Tipu may have affected the overall health of the population in terms of diet, whereas Copán’s health was more likely affected by the expansive population size, a finding seen at several other earlier Maya sites, including Cuello and K’axob. Overall, it appears that the Tipu Maya were able to somewhat mitigate the effects of contact during the first 150 years until the site was forcibly abandoned by the Spanish in 1707.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bianchi, Sydnie A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Marie Danforth","B. Katherine Smith","Bridget Hayden"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:19Z","subjects":["Maya","Tipu","Copán","children","Linear Enamel Hypoplasia","Porotic Hyperostosis","Biological and Physical Anthropology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/773","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Marie Danforth","B. Katherine Smith","Bridget Hayden"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bianchi, Sydnie A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-10-07T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Maya","Tipu","Copán","children","Linear Enamel Hypoplasia","Porotic Hyperostosis","Biological and Physical Anthropology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/773"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The site of Tipu in west central Belize provided a foothold for Spanish missionaries in the 17th century. The effects of contact on adults among the 550 burials recovered in the cemetery there have been well studied, but the children have received less attention. Therefore, this study examined juvenile health through four markers: Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH), a non-specific marker of health disruptions; Porotic Hyperostosis (PH), an indicator of anemia; and Periostitis, an indicator of infection. Some 131 individuals were evaluated using criteria developed by Steckel, Sciulli, and Rose (2002). The results were compared to Late Classic Copán (Storey, Marques Morfin, and Smith 2002).
For LEH, 47% Tipu juveniles exhibited episodes as compared to 85% at Copán. Periostitis at 7% was extremely low at Tipu whereas over half of the Copán subadults had lesions. In contrast, Copan had a much lower prevalence of PH than Tipu with rates of 16% and 84%, respectively. For most indicators at Tipu, frequencies increased with age of the individual, a pattern not seen at Copán.
These results suggest Spanish presence Tipu may have affected the overall health of the population in terms of diet, whereas Copán’s health was more likely affected by the expansive population size, a finding seen at several other earlier Maya sites, including Cuello and K’axob. Overall, it appears that the Tipu Maya were able to somewhat mitigate the effects of contact during the first 150 years until the site was forcibly abandoned by the Spanish in 1707.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Nutrition at Tipu: A Comparative Analysis of Juvenile Health in Maya Populations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Marie Danforth","B. Katherine Smith","Bridget Hayden"],"dc:creator":["Bianchi, Sydnie A"],"dc:date.available":["2020-10-07T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The site of Tipu in west central Belize provided a foothold for Spanish missionaries in the 17th century. The effects of contact on adults among the 550 burials recovered in the cemetery there have been well studied, but the children have received less attention. Therefore, this study examined juvenile health through four markers: Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH), a non-specific marker of health disruptions; Porotic Hyperostosis (PH), an indicator of anemia; and Periostitis, an indicator of infection. Some 131 individuals were evaluated using criteria developed by Steckel, Sciulli, and Rose (2002). The results were compared to Late Classic Copán (Storey, Marques Morfin, and Smith 2002).
For LEH, 47% Tipu juveniles exhibited episodes as compared to 85% at Copán. Periostitis at 7% was extremely low at Tipu whereas over half of the Copán subadults had lesions. In contrast, Copan had a much lower prevalence of PH than Tipu with rates of 16% and 84%, respectively. For most indicators at Tipu, frequencies increased with age of the individual, a pattern not seen at Copán.
These results suggest Spanish presence Tipu may have affected the overall health of the population in terms of diet, whereas Copán’s health was more likely affected by the expansive population size, a finding seen at several other earlier Maya sites, including Cuello and K’axob. Overall, it appears that the Tipu Maya were able to somewhat mitigate the effects of contact during the first 150 years until the site was forcibly abandoned by the Spanish in 1707.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/773"],"dc:subject":["Maya","Tipu","Copán","children","Linear Enamel Hypoplasia","Porotic Hyperostosis","Biological and Physical Anthropology"],"dc:title":["Nutrition at Tipu: A Comparative Analysis of Juvenile Health in Maya Populations"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:19Z"}