Abstract

JIMENEZ CANO, Nayeli G.  and  VIDAL LORENZO, Cristina. Termination and Consumption Rituals in the 6J2 Palace of La Blanca: A Zooarchaeological Perspective of the Terminal Classic in the Guatemalan Peten. Estud. cult. maya [online]. 2021, vol.57, pp.89-115.  Epub Mar 26, 2021. ISSN 0185-2574.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.ecm.57.2021.18654.

La Blanca is an urban settlement located in the department of Petén, Guatemala. The site played an important role due to its strategic location alongside the Mopán River basin. This paper presents results of the zooarchaeological studies conducted on this archaeological site during the Classic Terminal period (850-1000 A.D.), a time of social upheaval in which the elite of La Blanca left the city and new inhabitants occupied the rooms of its monumental palaces. The animal remains analyzed came from the excavation of the south wing of Palace 6J2 at the Acropolis and represent a unique opportunity to understand the faunal use and management in a period of social and economic crisis. The animals deposited in these rooms pointed to the ritual character of the assemblage as well as the importance of the nearby environment as a means of providing resources for subsistence. The study of the archaeofaunal assemblages represents a first approach to provide clues about the economic importance of the animals and their role in ritual activities during a so debated period in Maya history as the Terminal Classic in the Lowlands.

Keywords : zooarchaeology; ritual; exploitation; Terminal Classic; La Blanca.

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