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Culturally modified skeletal remains from the site of Huamelulpan, Oaxaca, Mexico
Alexander F. Christensen,
Marcus Winter,
Corresponding Author
Alexander F. Christensen
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USASearch for more papers by this authorMarcus Winter
Centro INAH Oaxaca, Pino Suárez 715,68000 Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Search for more papers by this authorAlexander F. Christensen,
Marcus Winter,
Corresponding Author
Alexander F. Christensen
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USASearch for more papers by this authorMarcus Winter
Centro INAH Oaxaca, Pino Suárez 715,68000 Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 04 December 1998
Citations: 19
Abstract
A series of crania from the site of Huamelulpan, Oaxaca, Mexico (400 BC to AD 800), were examined. Four showed notable cultural modifications. One exhibited a healed trephination, while the other three were perforated through the frontal. The cultural context and significance of these modifications is discussed, especially in relationship to the site of Monte Albán, where trephination was more common than anywhere else in Mesoamerica. The post-mortem cranial perforations appear to be connected with the practice of ancestor veneration. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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