Mortuary Sealing Among the Maya
Document Type
Book Contribution
Publication Date
1-1-2014
Description
In the Maya region, covering architecture and human remains in white marl has traditionally been interpreted as an act of defacement that accompanied some termination rituals. Recently, researchers have shown that such covering was a form of ritualized wrapping or sealing and could occur in the absence of other signs of desecration, as a part reverential termination. Here, I build on this work to argue that such sealing is not necessarily part of termination rites at all and could occur independently in mortuary contexts. I also suggest that such sealing is a distinct subset of other types of mortuary wrapping. Decoupling sealing from termination and exploring its relationship to other forms of wrapping helps refine our understanding of mortuary and ritual categories in the Maya area.
Citation Information
Duncan, William N.. 2014. Mortuary Sealing Among the Maya. The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place: Ideology, Power, and Meaning in Maya Mortuary Contexts. 255-276. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0479-2_10 ISBN: 9781493904792,1493904787,9781493904785