Dental Modification in the Postclassic Population From Lamanai, Belize

Williams, Jocelyn S.; White, Christine D.

doi:10.1017/s0956536106050267

Cited by 33 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…In contrast, other body modifications that are not necessarily conferred during childhood can be used to understand specific identities based on status, occupation, or social and political affiliation in the case of labret use (Torres-Rouff 2003) and dental modification (Geller 2006;Williams and White 2006). Dental modification styles are used to identify individuals as, for example, slaves from western and central Africa (Price et al 2006;Sealy et al 1995).…”

Section: Social Identity and Body Modificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Directions in Bioarchaeology: Recent Contributions to the Study of Human Social Identities

2008

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As a discipline that bridges the biological and social sciences, bioarchaeology has much to contribute to a contextualized and theoretically sophisticated understanding of social identities. Here, we discuss the growing methodological sophistication of bioarchaeology and highlight new developments in osteological age and sex estimation, paleodemography, biodistance analysis, biogeochemistry, and taphonomy, particularly anthropologie de terrain. We then discuss how these methodological developments, when united with social theory, can elucidate social identities. More specifically, we highlight past and future bioarchaeological work on disability and impairment, gender identity, identities of age and the life course, social identity and body modification, embodiment, and ethnic and community identities.

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Section: Social Identity and Body Modificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Directions in Bioarchaeology: Recent Contributions to the Study of Human Social Identities

2008

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“…Skin was tattooed and hair adorned with complex headdresses. The dead had their faces covered with masks, or their skulls removed and substituted by masks (Meskell and Joyce 2003: 33-43;Tiesler 1999;Williams and White 2006). To describe this pervasive phenomenon, Joyce (2000a: 13) adopts the concept of "beautification": the necessity to become attractive to gain social recognition.…”

Section: Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s Voices in a Male World: Actions, Bodies, and Spaces Among the Ancient Maya

2007

Papers From the Institute of Archaeology

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Feminist archaeology has prompted scholars to reconsider gender roles in ancient Mesoamerica. Current research, however, tends to focus on elite women, classes and sites. Although I do not ignore the potential of these sources, in this paper I am mainly concerned with issues such as the phenomenology of bodies and spaces, subroyal ritual actions, and daily activities such as cooking and weaving. My aim is to offer an overview of the most recent studies on gender in Maya archaeology and to provide ideas for further research by emphasising the need to engender ritual and individuate female discourses in the archaeological record. KeywordsBodies, gender, Maya, sexuality, spaces IntroductionDuring the last few decades, the rise of feminist archaeology (Conkey and Gero 1997;Conkey and Spector 1984;Gero and Conkey 1991) has promoted a new sensibility toward themes such as gender, agency, sexuality and the construction of selfhood in antiquity. Studies of the role of women in ancient Mesoamerica have recently increased (e.g. Ardren 2002a; Joyce 2000a; Klein 2001). The aim of this paper is to offer an overview of research on gender in Maya archaeology and to highlight the impact that Maya studies might have on the development of gender theory. My primary concern is not for those areas usually studied by Mayanists: royal architecture, elite burials and hieroglyphic texts. On the contrary, I focus on issues such as the management of the household, the perception of the body and the way in which living spaces were conceived and exploited. My emphasis is on studies which explore how male ideology has concealed women's real position in Maya society. In particular, I note that ideological constructions of body and sexuality were primary means of male domination. I also suggest, however, that a greater focus on female activities such as food processing and weaving can provide valuable information on macro-scale social dynamics, and that further research is needed to identify symbolic and physical 'spaces' in which Maya women were allowed to raise -metaphorically -their voices. Preliminary Methodological Observations: The SourcesHill (1998), among others, notes that mere hypotheses concerning gender roles in the past have been taken for granted on the basis of ethnographic analogy. She suggests that only a "multivariate approach" based on several lines of evidence may allow archaeologists to avoid the pitfalls which emerge when a single source is employed. I argue that the exceptional richness of the Maya record offers unique opportunities to employ gender theory to investigate both women's conditions in antiquity and macro-scale phenomena such as politics and conflict. Before tackling these issues in the following sections, I offer a critical assessment of the evidence through which Maya gender dynamics are revealed. Women's Voices in a Male World: Actions, Bodies, and Spaces Among the Ancient Maya 71Ethnographic and ethnohistorical comparisons can be carefully employed to produce hypotheses subject to testing. General ethnogr...

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“…A number of studies have investigated associations between the presence, type and extent of dental modification seen in the archaeological record, and social differentiation or occupation (Alt and Pichler, 1998;Cook, 1981;Domett et al, 2013;Durband et al, 2014;Hrdlička, 1940;Mower, 2009;Pietrusewsky and Douglas, 1993;Tayles, 1996;Williams and White, 2006). For example, among the Jomon of Yoshigo, Japan (3500-2300BP) different patterns of evulsion were recorded and found to vary with strontium isotope ratios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing evulsion in the Later Stone Age Maghreb: Age, sex and effects on mastication

Groote

Humphrey

2016

Quaternary International

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Abstract:This paper assesses the earliest evidence for widespread dental modification in Northwest Africa. The intentional modification of teeth has implications for an individual's appearance, sense of identity and perceived status. The range of modifications reported varies from alterations of shape or color to the complete removal of healthy teeth (evulsion or ablation). The availability of well-dated collections reveals that Northwest Africa was the first region where the custom of tooth evulsion was widely practiced.Analysis of Iberomaurusian (Late Stone Age, n=77) and Capsian dental material (n=12) shows that evulsion was present in most male and female individuals (>94%). The most common Iberomaurusian practice involved removal of both upper central incisors (around 65%) although removal of fewer, none and more teeth was also recorded. Observations of the extent of alveolar remodeling of different sockets revealed that teeth were frequently removed at different ages, suggesting that the cultural significance was age transgressive and may have related to an event that individuals experienced more than once. During the Capsian period the prevalence of evulsion was lower in males than in females, but when present more teeth were removed with evulsion frequently involving both mandible and maxilla. Tooth wear analysis shows that evulsion affected not only the appearance of the individual but also the functioning of the masticatory complex.3

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Dental Modification in the Postclassic Population From Lamanai, Belize

Cited by 33 publications

References 46 publications

New Directions in Bioarchaeology: Recent Contributions to the Study of Human Social Identities

New Directions in Bioarchaeology: Recent Contributions to the Study of Human Social Identities

Women’s Voices in a Male World: Actions, Bodies, and Spaces Among the Ancient Maya

Characterizing evulsion in the Later Stone Age Maghreb: Age, sex and effects on mastication

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