An Evaluation of Activity in a Colonial Maya Cemetery Using Femoral Cross-Sectional Analysis

<p>Cortical bone formation in the population of Tipu, a colonial visita site in Belize, was examined here to reveal factors of their activity and address the possibility of a status-based burial plan. To answer this question, this research examined the endosteal surface of the midshaft femur using digital imaging methods. The femora from 70 individuals were photographed and examined using the BoneJ plugin in ImageJ software. The cortical bone area was compared to additional variables, including sex, age, stature, pilastric index, and burial location. It was hypothesized that sex, age, and stature would correlate with cortical bone area similarly across the population, but that pilastric index and burial location would reveal distinct groups of individuals with differing activity.</p> <p>The results show that sex is correlated strongly with cortical bone. Age also trends in the expected direction, but all other variables fail to demonstrate significance.</p> <p>Therefore, no indication of elites within the cemetery can be determined. This could indicate that femoral cortical bone area is an ineffective measure of activity levels among social groups, necessitating other methods to evaluate status at Tipu. These results may also show a changing cultural landscape for the Maya with the infusion of Catholic traditions. However, the activity differences for those of varying social status may be too nuanced to significantly affect cortical bone area. Further research is needed on this population using different evaluation criteria to determine if a burial plan exists.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• LeJeune, Casey

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Marie Danforth
• Dr. H. Edwin Jackson
• Dr. Bridget Hayden

• bioarchaeology
• cross-sectional geometry
• colonial maya
• femoral cortical bone
• activity markers
• Biological and Physical Anthropology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/833

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1894