Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya

Rituals of Body and Soul

By Andrew K. Scherer

University of Texas Press

From the tombs of the elite to the graves of commoners, mortuary remains offer rich insights into Classic Maya society. In Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul, the anthropological archaeologist and bioarchaeologist Andrew K. Scherer explores the broad range of burial practices among the Maya of the Classic period (AD 250–900), integrating information gleaned from his own fieldwork with insights from the fields of iconography, epigraphy, and ethnography to illuminate this society’s rich funerary traditions.

Scherer’s study of burials along the Usumacinta River at the Mexican-Guatemalan border and in the Central Petén region of Guatemala—areas that include Piedras Negras, El Kinel, Tecolote, El Zotz, and Yaxha—reveals commonalities and differences among royal, elite, and commoner mortuary practices. By analyzing skeletons containing dental and cranial modifications, as well as the adornments of interred bodies, Scherer probes Classic Maya conceptions of body, wellness, and the afterlife.

Scherer also moves beyond the body to look at the spatial orientation of the burials and their integration into the architecture of Maya communities. Taking a unique interdisciplinary approach, the author examines how Classic Maya deathways can expand our understanding of this society’s beliefs and traditions, making Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya an important step forward in Mesoamerican archeology.

Scherer combines bioarchaeology with epigraphy, iconography, and ethnographic analogy to come up with a complete picture of what Classic Maya attitudes towards death and the afterlife were—across all social strata—and succeeds brilliantly. Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya is required reading for anyone working on mortuary behavior in ancient Mesoamerica. I don’t believe there is any other single published work with the scope and insight this book provides. James Fitzsimmons, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Middlebury College, and author of Death and the Classic Maya Kings

Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya is an ambitious and impressive work. Scherer is a highly trained biological archaeologist who has excavated many burials and offerings at Classic Maya sites in the Usumacinta region and the Petén of northern Guatemala. Perhaps the most innovative and prominent contribution of this volume is Scherer’s systematic comparison of both elite and commoner burials at particular sites. Scherer’s work is an excellent addition to studies in the ancient Maya. Karl A. Taube, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, coauthor of The Murals of San Bartolo, El Peten, Guatemala, Part 1: The North Wall and Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya

ANDREW K. SCHERERis an assistant professor of anthropology at Brown University. He is coauthor of Revisiting Maler’s Usumacinta: Recent Archaeological Investigations in Chiapas, Mexico.