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The Children of Copan: Issues in paleopathology and paleodemography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2010

Rebecca Storey
Rebecca Storey
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5882, USA
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Abstract

The estimated 600 individuals in the Copan skeletal sample make it one of the largest and most important collections from Precolumbian Mesoamerica. The sample is analyzed using a bioarchaeological approach. An overview of the goals of the osteological study and its progress are presented. As an illustration of the results obtainable from osteological analysis, mortality patterns and the incidence of enamel defects in the deciduous dentition of the children of an elite compound, 9N-8, are discussed. Even at an early stage of analysis, children commonly have evidence of health stress that is relevant to understanding the collapse of the Classic Maya society at Copan.

Resumen

Copan posee la mayor muestra de restos óseos precolombinos recuperada a la fecha en el area Maya, estimada en más de 600 iedividuos. El análisis osteológico es un componente integral del estudio general del sltio, y se está llevando a cabo con ue enfoque bioarqueológico. En este artículo se presenta una revisión de los objetivos del estudio bioarqueológico y sus avances a la fecha. Para ilustrar las clases de informatión que pueden obtenerse de tal estudio, se discuten los patrones de mortalidad y salud entre los subaduitos (individuos fallecidos antes de los quince años de edad) recuperados en el complejo palaciego 9N-8, en la zona de las Sepulturas de este sitio.

El principal problema para el estudio osteológico es buscar evidencia de problemas en la vida de la población en el clásico tardío, que puedan explicar el colapso de la civilizatión maya clásica en Copan. Los niños del 9N-8 se aproximae el patrón general de mortalidad humana, pues la mayoría murieroe antes de los cinco años, pero hay proporcionalmente mas muertes de las que podría esperarse entre las edades de 1 y 9 años. La presencia común de defectos dentales indica que la vida en este conjunto no daba protectión adecuada a los niños mas pequeños en contra de las presiones a que estabae sujetos. Estas presiones, afrontadas al inicio de la vida, causaban una elevada mortalidad en los primeros nueve años, posiblemente por infecciones asociadas con la caries dental. Aunque el análisis se encuentra en una fase temprana, la informatión obtenidad en los niños indica problemas de salud que podrían explicar el colapso.

Type
Special Section: The Archaeology of Ancient Copan
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , Spring 1992 , pp. 161 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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