AN OSTEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS FROM CUSIRISNA CAVE, NICARAGUA by Kendra L. Philmon A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida December 2012 Copyright by Kendra L. Philmon 2012 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without my thesis advisor Dr. Clifford T. Brown. The idea underlying the project was originally suggested to him by Dr. James Brady, and without this suggestion, we would know nothing about the skeletal remains from Cusirisna Cave. Dr. Brown has provided endless support throughout this process by explaining Mesoamerican archaeology and history, making research and reference suggestions, providing direction, arranging weekly meetings to discuss ideas, offering continuous review and editing, and for instilling confidence in my ability to complete the research. I will be forever grateful to the Department of Anthropology for the opportunity to conduct bioarchaeological research. Thank you to my committee members Drs. Broadfield and Detwiler for their assistance in the research and for reviewing this thesis. Thanks also to Harvard Peabody Museum for their kindness in allowing examination of the Cusirisna Cave collection, for accommodating my research, and especially to Dr. Viva Fisher for approving the radiocarbon sampling and for shipping the specimen, as well as for her support in procuring copies of the documentation and other matters. I also thank Dr. Patricia Kervick who provided access to Earl Flint's reports, and correspondence, made copies of them, and granted us permission to use them. I am grateful to Dr. Susan Haskell, Collections Manager, who dedicated many hours to iv tracking down artifacts and providing access to them; to Dr. William Fash, Bowditch Professor of Anthropology and Curator, and Barbara Fash, Director of the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, who were graciously hospitable and collegial in Cambridge; and to Dr. Steven LeBlanc, who kindly contributed his expertise to the radiocarbon sampling. Financial support for this project was provided through the Ann Adams Mayan Fund of the Department of Anthropology at FAU and through a Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid-of-Research for research travel and radiocarbon dating. I also thank Dr. Stanley Serafin, who carefully reviewed many photographs of the human remains from the Cusirisna collection, shared his professional opinions with me, and provided extensive bibliographic references that were very helpful. Thank you to the graduate students who helped me along the way, whether it was listening to my ideas or just keeping me company with wine. Especially to my Brittany, Melissa, Patrick, and Alexi, I am so glad that anthropology somehow brought us together. Your company and support mean the world. Finally, thanks to my family for your love and understanding. I would have never made it this far without you all believing in my abilities. Your confidence in my direction is greatly appreciated, and I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done. v ABSTRACT Author: Kendra L. Philmon Title: An Osteological Analysis of Human Remains from Cusirisna Cave, Nicaragua Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Clifford T. Brown Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2012 Cusirisna Cave was discovered in the 1870s by Dr. Earl Flint, an explorer for the Harvard Peabody Museum. The human remains and artifacts found in the cave were collected and sent to the museum, where they have remained since, unanalyzed. In December 2011, Dr. Clifford T. Brown and I analyzed the osteological material and artifacts because we thought they might be related to the Preclassic cave complexes of neighboring Honduras, an idea originally suggested by Dr. James Brady. I analyzed the human remains while Dr. Brown studied the artifacts. This thesis presents the results of the analyses and compares the findings to other mortuary complexes in Mesoamerica. Despite the paucity of material culture, information regarding context, and the small sample size, I propose Cusirisna as a place of exceptional ritual importance. This project adds to our understanding of cave bioarchaeology, mortuary practices in Mesoamerica, and the prehistory of Nicaragua. vi AN OSTEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS FROM CUSIRISNA CAVE, NICARAGUA LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ....................................................................................... 7 MORTUARY CAVES ..................................................................................................... 14 Copán Caves .................................................................................................................. 15 Cuyamel Caves .............................................................................................................. 16 Río Talgua ..................................................................................................................... 18 NICARAGUAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND CUSIRISNA CAVE .................................... 20 METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 25 Labeling and Coding ..................................................................................................... 26 Metrics ........................................................................................................................... 30 Nonmetric variation ....................................................................................................... 33 Minimum number of individuals ................................................................................... 35 Sex determination .......................................................................................................... 36 Age estimation ............................................................................................................... 37 Stature estimation .......................................................................................................... 39 Taphonomy .................................................................................................................... 41 Pathology ....................................................................................................................... 41 Trauma .......................................................................................................................... 43 Cultural modification .................................................................................................... 44 Cultural comparison ...................................................................................................... 47 Artifact analysis ............................................................................................................. 47 Original documentation ................................................................................................. 48 Radiocarbon dating ....................................................................................................... 48 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 52 Metrics ........................................................................................................................... 52 Nonmetric variation ....................................................................................................... 53 Minimum number of individuals ................................................................................... 57 Sex determination .......................................................................................................... 58 Age estimation ............................................................................................................... 61 Stature estimation .......................................................................................................... 65 Taphonomy .................................................................................................................... 67 Pathology ....................................................................................................................... 68 vii Trauma .......................................................................................................................... 92 Cultural modification .................................................................................................. 107 Artifact analysis ........................................................................................................... 122 Original documentation ............................................................................................... 134 Radiocarbon dating ..................................................................................................... 135 COMPARISON TO OTHER SITES .............................................................................. 140 Cultural comparison between Postclassic Maya and Cusirisna Cave ......................... 144 INTERPRETATIONS