For You Lot Data - Violence Inward Pre-Columbian Panama Exaggerated, Novel Report Shows

Buried alive. Butchered. Decapitated. Hacked. Mutilated. Killed. Archaeologist Samuel K. Lothrop did non obfuscate when describing what he sentiment had happened to the 220 bodies his expedition excavated from Panama's Playa Venado site inward 1951. The exclusively job is that Lothrop probable got it wrong. H5N1 novel evaluation of the site's remains past times Smithsonian archaeologists revealed no signs of trauma at or close fourth dimension of death. The burial site probable tells a to a greater extent than culturally nuanced story.

One of 2 cases of healed blows to the cranium from the Playa Venado excavations. Most of the show of violence
 was interpreted past times Harvard archaeologist, Samuel Lothrop based on trunk positioning inward graves at the site.
Smithsonian post-doctoral fellow, Nicole Smith-Guzmán, flora no examples of trauma that occurred
 near the fourth dimension of decease with the skeletons inward the collection [Credit: Nicole Smith-Guzmán, STRI]

The "long-overdue" reexamination of the Playa Venado site, which dates to 500-900 A.D. in addition to is located close the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, revealed no show of ritual killing, said Nicole E. Smith-Guzmán, post-doctoral boyfriend at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). Lothrop's misinterpretations are probable due to the era of "Romantic archaeology," underdeveloped methods for mortuary studies in addition to literal readings of Castilian accounts of indigenous peoples subsequently European contact.

"We at 1 time realize that many of these Castilian chroniclers were motivated to exhibit the indigenous populations they encountered equally 'uncivilized' in addition to inward involve of conquering," said Smith-Guzmán, adding that many accounts of sacrifice in addition to cannibalism convey non been confirmed past times the archaeological record. "Rather than an illustration of fierce decease in addition to careless deposition, Playa Venado presents an illustration of how pre-Columbian societies inward the Isthmo-Colombian expanse showed honor in addition to tending for their kin subsequently death."

The article, co-authored past times STRI staff archeologist Richard Cooke, was published inward Latin American Antiquity. But Lothrop's 1954 paper, "Suicide, sacrifice in addition to mutilations inward burials at Venado Beach, Panama," left its grade on the annals of Panamanian archaeology. It has been cited to a greater extent than than 35 times equally show of violence, cannibalism or trophy decapitation. Some authors convey used the newspaper to advise Playa Venado is a volume burial site or a manifestation of conflict.

A woman soul skeleton inward situ with a ceramic pedestal bowl inward the shape of a turtle at her head. Amateur archeologist
Kenneth Vinton kept this ceramic artifact in addition to in that place were several photos of it on display
in his classroom inward Panama [Credit: Ripon College, Kenneth Vinton estate]

In defence of Lothrop, who was an archeologist with Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology in addition to Enthnology, bioarchaeology (the written report of human remains from archaeological contexts) did non be equally a sub-discipline until 2 decades subsequently his run concluded at Playa Venado. Today's practitioners likewise produce goodness from methods developed inward the 1980s in addition to 1990s.

Lothrop's careful documentation in addition to preservation of remains made reevaluation possible. Remains from to a greater extent than than lxx individuals from Playa Venado are at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, sent in that place past times Lothrop for osteological evaluation.

Upon examination, Smith-Guzmán flora exclusively wounds that showed signs of healing good earlier the individuals died, including blows to the caput in addition to a dislocated thumb. Various broken bones in addition to disarticulated remains discovered past times Lothrop to a greater extent than probable explained past times normal processes of decomposition in addition to secondary burial of remains, which is believed to convey a mutual ancestor-veneration practise inward pre-Colombian Panama.

Overhead: Bioarchaeologist Nicole Smith-Guzmán looks for clues that powerfulness explicate the travail of death
of individuals from ancient Panamanian gravesites [Credit: Sean Mattson, STRI]

Evidence suggests for certain people's remains were preserved for long periods of fourth dimension earlier beingness buried inward ritual contexts. "At Playa Venado, nosotros reckon a lot of show of adults beingness buried side past times side to urns containing children, multiple burials including 1 primary in addition to 1 secondary burial, in addition to disturbance of previously set graves inward gild to inter some other private inward association," said Smith-Guzmán.

"The uniform burial positioning in addition to the absence of perimortem (around the fourth dimension of death) trauma stands inward contradiction to Lothrop's interpretation of fierce decease at the site," said Smith-Guzmán, who likewise used show from other archaeological sites to a greater extent than or less Panama almost burial rites equally job of the investigation. "There are depression rates of trauma inward general, in addition to the opened upwards mouths of skeletons Lothrop noted are to a greater extent than easily explained past times normal musculus relaxation subsequently decease in addition to decay."

Smith-Guzmán in addition to Cooke's reassessment of the Playa Venado burials suggests that ideas almost widespread violence inward pre-Columbian Panama involve to hold upwards reconsidered. The enquiry is job of a larger, interdisciplinary site reanalysis that volition hold upwards published past times the Dumbarton Oaks Museum inward Washington, D.C..

Source: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute [September 24, 2018]


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