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Description
The non-elite segment of the ancient Maya civilization has long been considered a homogenous social stratum. However, recent studies have begun to reveal the true, complicated, and hierarchical organization found within the non-elite social group. This thesis takes a bio-cultural perspective on skeletal and archaeological material of the 23 non-elite Maya individuals recovered from Guerra, Belize. Four residential structures within Guerra, Gypsy, Tatu, Dart, and Sara, were excavated as part of the San Diego State University Mopan-Macal Triangle Archaeological Project (MMTAP). The goal of the project is to gain a comprehensive understanding of Maya social structure and daily life, therefore, excavation of both large urban centers and small, rural Maya communities was undertaken. Guerra is the small rural suburb community located outside the urban site of Benavista del Cayo in the western Belize Valley. The site was occupation throughout the Classic period (AD 200-900). An analysis of the mortuary practices, and skeletal indicators of health and genetic markers reveals the complicated, hierarchical organization of this non-elite community and its relationship to the residents of the adjacent urban center. Differences in burial practices and architectural types indicate Guerra was a ranked community throughout its occupation. Overall the health of this community is good for both high and low status non-elite individuals. Dental pathology indicates there was a greater divide in access to resources between high and low status non-elites during the Early Classic than the Late Classic. A high frequency of childhood stressors is found in Guerra. Compared to the low frequency of childhood stressors found within the high status elites and sub-elites of Buenavista reveals the impact was greater for the non-elites than elites. This conveys that within the western Belize Valley there was social inequality when it came to access to certain resources. Statistical analyses of dental morphology and metrics show Guerra shares more biological affinity within the community than to the high status sub-elites of Archangel-Angel residing in Buenavsita. However, results indicate these two communities do share distant affinity, probably through marriage. A fictive kinship tie between Guerra and the ruling elites of Buenavista-Cahal Pech is highly probable based on the presence of identical caches at both sites. The current evidence suggests Maya community structure, organization, and membership was based primarily on biological affinity.
