Abstract
Head shaping was a widespread prehispanic practice deeply rooted in Mesoamerican people's everyday life, especially among the Maya. After the Spanish Conquest, this practice was prohibited and has fallen in disuse, until becoming an interesting research topic for bioarcheology, physical anthropology, and ethnohistory, or, at least, this is what is commonly thought. Our research began by asking this point. Is the cranial shaping tradition really extinct? To address this query, we conducted questionnaires and interviews in the current territory of Guatemala. After that, we compared results with the recent bioarchaeological discussions and found an excellent analogy that glimpsed the continuation and transformation of this prehispanic tradition.
Translated title of the contribution | Head-shaping: A mesoamerican millennial tradition from the Preclassic era to modern times |
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Original language | Spanish |
Pages (from-to) | 157-181 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Estudios de Cultura Maya |
Volume | 50 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Contemporary Maya
- Corporal anthropology
- Embodiment
- Guatemala
- Head shaping
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology
- Cultural Studies
- Anthropology
- Archaeology