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Gabriel Wrobel

Michigan State University, Anthropology, Faculty Member

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My work is primarily focused on interdisciplinary bioarchaeological research on the ancient Maya, with secondary foci on Australasia bioarchaeology and digital heritage.

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Papers by Gabriel Wrobel

The View of Maya Cave Ritual from the Overlook Rockshelter, Caves Branch River Valley, Central Belize

Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 2013

Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of cen... more Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize offer a unique view of ancient Maya cave ritual through the complete recovery and analysis of all artifacts within the site’s two small activity areas. In general, the assemblage contains many of the same types of objects documented from other nearby caves and rockshelters. However, the nearly 1700 ceramics sherds showed almost no refits, demonstrating that sherds were deposited at the site individually, rather than as complete vessels. The human bone assemblage represents three or four individuals, with the majority of the bones comprising a single individual, and all of these were deposited as incomplete secondary interments. Analogies for this depositional behavior based on archaeological and ethnographic studies suggest that this rockshelter may represent a waypoint within a ritual circuit composed of multiple locations over which fragments of complete items such as ceramic vessels and secondary burials were spread.

Osteophageous Insect Damage on Human Bone from Je'reftheel, a Maya Mortuary Cave Site in West ‐ Central Belize

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2018

Human bones from the Maya mortuary cave of Je'reftheel in west‐central Belize show evidence of ta... more Human bones from the Maya mortuary cave of Je'reftheel in west‐central Belize show evidence of taphonomic modifications attributed to insects, with termites and dermestid beetles being the most likely culprits. This study represents the first detailed exploration of the effects of osteophageous insects on bones from the Maya area and thus expands on recent efforts by other researchers working in the region to document taphonomic processes and distinguish them from intentional mortuary treatments.

Four Preceramic Points Newly Discovered in Belize: A COMMENT ON STEMP ET AL. (2016:279–299)

by Jaime Awe, Christophe Helmke, and Gabriel Wrobel

Latin American Antiquity, 2017

POLYDACTYLY AND THE MAYA: A REVIEW AND A CASE FROM THE SITE OF PELIGROSO, UPPER MACAL RIVER VALLEY, BELIZE

by Gabriel Wrobel and Jaime Awe

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2012

A single right fifth metatarsal found in Tomb 1 at Peligroso, Belize exhibited a small deformity ... more A single right fifth metatarsal found in Tomb 1 at Peligroso, Belize exhibited a small deformity in the form of a small (7 mm) accessory digit emanating from the plantar surface at mid-shaft. This Type A postaxial polydactyly is the first archaeological example of polydactyly reported for Mesoamerica. Polydactyly is one of the more commonly reported morphological anomalies and thus its appearance in Maya populations would have been prevalent enough to demand explanation. A review of related terminology in pertinent Amerindian languages is presented as a means of exploring the manners in which digits and the human body are conceptualized. Maya iconographic representations of polydactyly at Palenque have parallels to other Mesoamerican renderings of supernumerary digits used to identify divinities and deified ancestors. However, the Peligroso mortuary context comprised disarticulated and commingled bones, suggesting that the individual did not have a distinctive social role related to the presence of an extra digit.

THE CURRENT STATE OF RESEARCH ON ANCIENT MAYA ROCKSHELTER USE IN CENTRAL BELIZE

by Amy Michael, Gabriel Wrobel, and Jack Biggs

Most investigations of subterranean contexts in the Maya area have focused on deep cave environme... more Most investigations of subterranean contexts in the Maya area have focused on deep cave environments, particularly those of a larger size. However, smaller caves and rockshelters were also heavily utilized by the ancient Maya. This paper focuses on a literature review of the second of these contexts, bolstered and broadened by primary research conducted under the auspices of the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance project, the Western Belize Regional Cave Project, and most recently, by the Central Belize Archaeological Survey project. In particular, through this paper we seek to contextualize the highly variable assemblages of several rockshelters with respect to both temporal and regional patterns of cave use and to discuss the mortuary context of rockshelter use in the region. We note that rockshelter use was characterized by diversity in both intensity and nature over time. Predictably, these changes are likely linked to the social, economic, and political developments of the nearby communities using them.

The First Five Years of the Central Belize Archaeological Survey – Political and Economic Development

by Gabriel Wrobel and Amy Michael

Since 2009, members of the Central Belize Archaeological Survey (CBAS) have engaged in a program ... more Since 2009, members of the Central Belize Archaeological Survey (CBAS) have engaged in a program of regional exploration between the Roaring Creek and Caves Branch River Valleys. This research has included epigraphic and architectural studies, settlement, paleoenvironmental and resource studies, speleoarchaeology, and bioarchaeology and other material studies. Through these avenues, CBAS has explored multiple aspects of growth and development in the economic and political realms, a topic that we discuss in this paper.

For Love of the Game: The Ballplayer Panels of Tipan Chen Uitz in Light of Late Classic Athletic Hegemony

by Gabriel Wrobel and Christophe Helmke

Je'reftheel, Roaring Creek Works, Belize

by Gabriel Wrobel and Christophe Helmke

Heart of Earth: Studies in Maya Ritual Cave Use, edited by James E. Brady, pp. 69-81. Bulletin No. 23, Association for Mexican Cave Studies, Austin, 2012

Stir It Up, Little Darlin’: The Chipped Stone Assemblage from Mixed Deposits from Caves Branch Rockshelter, Belize

by Jaime Awe and Gabriel Wrobel

Social bioarchaeology. Edited by Sabrina C.Agarwal and Bonnie A.Glencross. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. 2011. 472 pp. ISBN 978-1-4051-9187-6. $43.95 (paper)

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2014

A Brief Flame Among the Embers: The Florescence of a ‘Frontier’ Polity during the Classic Period Collapse

Proceedings of the 44th Annual Chacmool Conference, University of Calgary, 2014

"Collapse," "decline," and "transformation" are common, if perhaps over simplistic, terms applied... more "Collapse," "decline," and "transformation" are common, if perhaps over simplistic, terms applied to the highly variable events of the Late/Terminal Classic period (ca. AD 750 - 900/1000) in the southern/central Maya Lowlands. A growing body of literature emphasizes that "collapse" is a complex process; in such a dynamic setting one polity's failing fortunes may be another's opportunity. This paper focuses particularly on one such centre in central Belize, Tipan Chen Uitz, that fluoresced, however briefly, during this period of general decline.

Ritual Landscapes of the Caves Branch River Valley

by Amy Michael, Gabriel Wrobel, and Christophe Helmke

Maya communities and special function sites in Central Belize. During the past three seasons, dis... more Maya communities and special function sites in Central Belize. During the past three seasons, discoveries and investigations of multiple "new" civic-ceremonial centers and cave sites have advanced our understanding of ways Classic period Maya groups utilized ritually-important natural and constructed elements of the cultural landscape. We are currently considering the possibility that temporal variations in the use of these locations reflect a variety of factors, including demographic, sociopolitical, and environmental changes that took place in the southern Maya Lowlands between the Late Preclassic and Terminal Classic periods. Our ongoing investigations of landscapes in and around the CBRV are providing us with an improved understanding of how ritual was centrally important in defining and negotiating group and community identities in this part of the Maya area.

Ancient Maya Stone Tools and Ritual Use of Deep Valley Rockshelter, Belize

by James Stemp, Jess Haley, Gabriel Wrobel, William Stemp, Jaime Awe, and BVAR Project

This paper discusses the technological and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chert debitage ex... more This paper discusses the technological and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chert debitage excavated from Deep Valley Rockshelter. This rockshelter, located in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize, was primarily used by the ancient Maya from the Late Preclassic to Terminal Classic periods (AD 80–950) and may demonstrate a pattern of rockshelter usage by the Classic periodMaya. To test whether such a pattern exists, lithic data from Caves Branch Rockshelter and other rockshelters in Belize, specifically those in the Sibun Valley and the Ek Xux Valley, are compared. Interpretations are complicated, however, by the severe mixing of deposits, which makes segregating the lithic artifacts into different reduction or use events nearly impossible. Moreover, this mixing severely hampers reconstructions of diachronic change in stone-tool use in the rockshelter. While acknowledging these limitations, our analysis suggests that the lithics in the rockshelter are primarily the result of reduction and use-related activities that originally occurred at other nearby surface sites rather than in the rockshelter itself. Consequently, the chipped-stone artifacts recovered from this rockshelter most likely result from secondary deposition of debitage for ritual purposes and represent accumulation over many years. We suspect this type of secondary deposition of debitage was also occurring at other rockshelters in Belize, based on comparisons to the chipped stone assemblages from these locations. We cannot discount the possibility that some stone tool production and use may have originally occurred in Deep Valley Rockshelter, but support for this is minimal.

The Buk Phase Burials of Belize: Testing Genetic Relatedness among Early Postclassic Groups in Northern Belize using Dental Morphology

Archaeology and Bioarchaeology of Population Movement among the Prehispanic Maya, edited by Andrea Cucina, 2015

Archaeological comparisons of Classic and Postclassic contexts from the Central Precinct at Laman... more Archaeological comparisons of Classic and Postclassic contexts from the Central Precinct at Lamanai, northern Belize, reveal that the community managed to maintain economic and social stability at the same time that the material culture underwent significant change. A key element during this transition was economic reorganization, which benefited from access to trade facilitated by a riverine location and a cosmopolitan culture established in the Classic period. The aim of this paper is to use dental morphology to test whether the Early Postclassic cultural changes reflected in the appearance of Zakpah ceramics and distinctive mortuary treatments among elites signal an influx of nonlocal people.

Small, Biased Burial Samples and Bioarchaeology: Introduction to The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place

Wrobel, G. (2014) Introduction. In The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place: Ideology, Power and Meaning in Maya Mortuary Contexts, edited by Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 1-14. New York: Springer Press., Apr 2014

A Likely Case of Scurvy in a Rural Early Classic Maya Burial from Actun Uayazba Kab, Belize

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Nov 2014

A Maya burial of a late adolescent (Burial 98-3) found in the rockshelter entrance of Actun Uayaz... more A Maya burial of a late adolescent (Burial 98-3) found in the rockshelter entrance of Actun Uayazba Kab (AUK), Belize, displays a combination of lesions that is consistent with scurvy. Signs include large, active lesions on the posterior surfaces of maxilla; relatively mild porotic hyperostosis along the midline of the skull on the parietals and occipital; cribra orbitalia; potential pinprick lesions on the greater wings of sphenoid and temporal; reactive lesions on the palate, temporal lines of frontal and parietals, and external and internal surfaces of zygomatics; small lesions on the popliteal surfaces of both femora; and periodontal disease. Identification of scurvy at AUK potentially informs the analysis of other primary burials and scattered bone found there and at other nearby sites, which often reveal evidence of nonspecific lesions that are usually attributed to anemia and infection, but that are also consistent with scurvy. The social and ecological context of this Protoclassic (0–AD 300) individual, who lived in a rural agricultural community with no evidence of complex social hierarchy, contrasts with typical discussions of disease among the Maya, which tend to focus on the degrading effects of overcrowding and resource deficiencies. While scurvy has been largely overlooked in the Maya area, this study supports earlier arguments for its presence that were based largely on clinical and ethnographic analogies and suggests the need to incorporate scurvy into broader synergistic models of ancient health.

A Case Study of Funerary Cave Use from Je’reftheel, Central Belize

by Gabriel Wrobel and Christophe Helmke

The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place: Ideology, Power and Meaning in Maya Mortuary Contexts, edited by Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 77-106. New York: Springer Press., Apr 2014

Bioarchaeological analysis of mortuary deposits from Je’reftheel, a small cave located in the Roa... more Bioarchaeological analysis of mortuary deposits from Je’reftheel, a small cave located in the Roaring Creek Works of central Belize, focused on characterizing the nature of mortuary activities conducted in the cave to determine whether the site was used for funerary or sacrificial purposes. In contrasting caves and cenotes, ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and epigraphic accounts of cave use by the Maya fairly consistently mention mortuary events that occur in caves, as funerary. The combined osteological and isotopic analyses from Je’reftheel are also consistent with models of funerary behavior among the Maya. The skeletal deposits comprise both primary, articulated bodies, and secondary deposits. Other data suggest that most of the individuals were of local origin and may have been closely related. Together, these results provide a strong analogy to funerary behavior documented in tombs throughout the Maya region and beyond.

Contextualizing the Glyphic Texts of Tipan Chen Uitz, Cayo District, Belize

Latin American Antiquity, Mar 2014

The View of Maya Mortuary Cave Ritual from Overlook Rockshelter (OVR), Caves Branch River Valley, Central Belize

Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, Sep 2013

Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of cen... more Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize offer a unique view of ancient Maya cave ritual through the complete recovery and analysis of all artifacts within the site's two small activity areas. In general, the assemblage contains many of the same types of objects documented from other nearby caves and rockshelters. However, the nearly 1700 ceramics sherds showed almost no refits, demonstrating that sherds were deposited at the site individually, rather than as complete vessels. The human bone assemblage represents three or four individuals, with the majority of the bones comprising a single individual, and all of these were deposited as incomplete secondary interments. Analogies for this depositional behavior based on archaeological and ethnographic studies suggest that this rockshelter may represent a waypoint within a ritual circuit composed of multiple locations over which fragments of complete items such as ceramic vessels and secondary burials were spread.

Stir It Up, Little Darlin’: The Chipped Stone from Mixed Deposits from Caves Branch Rockshelter, Belize

Canadian Journal of Archaeology, Aug 2013

This paper discusses the analysis of the chipped chert and obsidian assemblage excavated from Cav... more This paper discusses the analysis of the chipped chert and obsidian assemblage excavated from Caves Branch Rockshelter (CBR) and provides a reconstruction of the patterns of lithic reduction and tool use. This small rockshelter, located in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize, was primarily used as a burial location by local Maya communities from the Protoclassic to Terminal Classic periods (A.D. 80–950). However, both natural and cultural forces have badly disturbed and mixed deposits from different contexts within the site, thus severely hampering our ability to document the original deposition locations of lithic artifacts. The results of our analyses, which focused on the entire assemblage, demonstrated that reduction strategies varied by raw material type and provided evidence for some formal tool repair and expedient tool production. Based on use-wear analysis results, tools appear to have been mostly used for a variety of primarily daily domestic functions. We suspect the ancient Maya also used chert and obsidian artifacts as ritual objects, such as grave goods, offerings, and for sacrificial blood-letting, in CBR.

The View of Maya Cave Ritual from the Overlook Rockshelter, Caves Branch River Valley, Central Belize

Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 2013

Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of cen... more Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize offer a unique view of ancient Maya cave ritual through the complete recovery and analysis of all artifacts within the site’s two small activity areas. In general, the assemblage contains many of the same types of objects documented from other nearby caves and rockshelters. However, the nearly 1700 ceramics sherds showed almost no refits, demonstrating that sherds were deposited at the site individually, rather than as complete vessels. The human bone assemblage represents three or four individuals, with the majority of the bones comprising a single individual, and all of these were deposited as incomplete secondary interments. Analogies for this depositional behavior based on archaeological and ethnographic studies suggest that this rockshelter may represent a waypoint within a ritual circuit composed of multiple locations over which fragments of complete items such as ceramic vessels and secondary burials were spread.

Osteophageous Insect Damage on Human Bone from Je'reftheel, a Maya Mortuary Cave Site in West ‐ Central Belize

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2018

Human bones from the Maya mortuary cave of Je'reftheel in west‐central Belize show evidence of ta... more Human bones from the Maya mortuary cave of Je'reftheel in west‐central Belize show evidence of taphonomic modifications attributed to insects, with termites and dermestid beetles being the most likely culprits. This study represents the first detailed exploration of the effects of osteophageous insects on bones from the Maya area and thus expands on recent efforts by other researchers working in the region to document taphonomic processes and distinguish them from intentional mortuary treatments.

Four Preceramic Points Newly Discovered in Belize: A COMMENT ON STEMP ET AL. (2016:279–299)

by Jaime Awe, Christophe Helmke, and Gabriel Wrobel

Latin American Antiquity, 2017

POLYDACTYLY AND THE MAYA: A REVIEW AND A CASE FROM THE SITE OF PELIGROSO, UPPER MACAL RIVER VALLEY, BELIZE

by Gabriel Wrobel and Jaime Awe

Ancient Mesoamerica, 2012

A single right fifth metatarsal found in Tomb 1 at Peligroso, Belize exhibited a small deformity ... more A single right fifth metatarsal found in Tomb 1 at Peligroso, Belize exhibited a small deformity in the form of a small (7 mm) accessory digit emanating from the plantar surface at mid-shaft. This Type A postaxial polydactyly is the first archaeological example of polydactyly reported for Mesoamerica. Polydactyly is one of the more commonly reported morphological anomalies and thus its appearance in Maya populations would have been prevalent enough to demand explanation. A review of related terminology in pertinent Amerindian languages is presented as a means of exploring the manners in which digits and the human body are conceptualized. Maya iconographic representations of polydactyly at Palenque have parallels to other Mesoamerican renderings of supernumerary digits used to identify divinities and deified ancestors. However, the Peligroso mortuary context comprised disarticulated and commingled bones, suggesting that the individual did not have a distinctive social role related to the presence of an extra digit.

THE CURRENT STATE OF RESEARCH ON ANCIENT MAYA ROCKSHELTER USE IN CENTRAL BELIZE

by Amy Michael, Gabriel Wrobel, and Jack Biggs

Most investigations of subterranean contexts in the Maya area have focused on deep cave environme... more Most investigations of subterranean contexts in the Maya area have focused on deep cave environments, particularly those of a larger size. However, smaller caves and rockshelters were also heavily utilized by the ancient Maya. This paper focuses on a literature review of the second of these contexts, bolstered and broadened by primary research conducted under the auspices of the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance project, the Western Belize Regional Cave Project, and most recently, by the Central Belize Archaeological Survey project. In particular, through this paper we seek to contextualize the highly variable assemblages of several rockshelters with respect to both temporal and regional patterns of cave use and to discuss the mortuary context of rockshelter use in the region. We note that rockshelter use was characterized by diversity in both intensity and nature over time. Predictably, these changes are likely linked to the social, economic, and political developments of the nearby communities using them.

The First Five Years of the Central Belize Archaeological Survey – Political and Economic Development

by Gabriel Wrobel and Amy Michael

Since 2009, members of the Central Belize Archaeological Survey (CBAS) have engaged in a program ... more Since 2009, members of the Central Belize Archaeological Survey (CBAS) have engaged in a program of regional exploration between the Roaring Creek and Caves Branch River Valleys. This research has included epigraphic and architectural studies, settlement, paleoenvironmental and resource studies, speleoarchaeology, and bioarchaeology and other material studies. Through these avenues, CBAS has explored multiple aspects of growth and development in the economic and political realms, a topic that we discuss in this paper.

For Love of the Game: The Ballplayer Panels of Tipan Chen Uitz in Light of Late Classic Athletic Hegemony

by Gabriel Wrobel and Christophe Helmke

Je'reftheel, Roaring Creek Works, Belize

by Gabriel Wrobel and Christophe Helmke

Heart of Earth: Studies in Maya Ritual Cave Use, edited by James E. Brady, pp. 69-81. Bulletin No. 23, Association for Mexican Cave Studies, Austin, 2012

Stir It Up, Little Darlin’: The Chipped Stone Assemblage from Mixed Deposits from Caves Branch Rockshelter, Belize

by Jaime Awe and Gabriel Wrobel

Social bioarchaeology. Edited by Sabrina C.Agarwal and Bonnie A.Glencross. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. 2011. 472 pp. ISBN 978-1-4051-9187-6. $43.95 (paper)

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2014

A Brief Flame Among the Embers: The Florescence of a ‘Frontier’ Polity during the Classic Period Collapse

Proceedings of the 44th Annual Chacmool Conference, University of Calgary, 2014

"Collapse," "decline," and "transformation" are common, if perhaps over simplistic, terms applied... more "Collapse," "decline," and "transformation" are common, if perhaps over simplistic, terms applied to the highly variable events of the Late/Terminal Classic period (ca. AD 750 - 900/1000) in the southern/central Maya Lowlands. A growing body of literature emphasizes that "collapse" is a complex process; in such a dynamic setting one polity's failing fortunes may be another's opportunity. This paper focuses particularly on one such centre in central Belize, Tipan Chen Uitz, that fluoresced, however briefly, during this period of general decline.

Ritual Landscapes of the Caves Branch River Valley

by Amy Michael, Gabriel Wrobel, and Christophe Helmke

Maya communities and special function sites in Central Belize. During the past three seasons, dis... more Maya communities and special function sites in Central Belize. During the past three seasons, discoveries and investigations of multiple "new" civic-ceremonial centers and cave sites have advanced our understanding of ways Classic period Maya groups utilized ritually-important natural and constructed elements of the cultural landscape. We are currently considering the possibility that temporal variations in the use of these locations reflect a variety of factors, including demographic, sociopolitical, and environmental changes that took place in the southern Maya Lowlands between the Late Preclassic and Terminal Classic periods. Our ongoing investigations of landscapes in and around the CBRV are providing us with an improved understanding of how ritual was centrally important in defining and negotiating group and community identities in this part of the Maya area.

Ancient Maya Stone Tools and Ritual Use of Deep Valley Rockshelter, Belize

by James Stemp, Jess Haley, Gabriel Wrobel, William Stemp, Jaime Awe, and BVAR Project

This paper discusses the technological and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chert debitage ex... more This paper discusses the technological and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chert debitage excavated from Deep Valley Rockshelter. This rockshelter, located in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize, was primarily used by the ancient Maya from the Late Preclassic to Terminal Classic periods (AD 80–950) and may demonstrate a pattern of rockshelter usage by the Classic periodMaya. To test whether such a pattern exists, lithic data from Caves Branch Rockshelter and other rockshelters in Belize, specifically those in the Sibun Valley and the Ek Xux Valley, are compared. Interpretations are complicated, however, by the severe mixing of deposits, which makes segregating the lithic artifacts into different reduction or use events nearly impossible. Moreover, this mixing severely hampers reconstructions of diachronic change in stone-tool use in the rockshelter. While acknowledging these limitations, our analysis suggests that the lithics in the rockshelter are primarily the result of reduction and use-related activities that originally occurred at other nearby surface sites rather than in the rockshelter itself. Consequently, the chipped-stone artifacts recovered from this rockshelter most likely result from secondary deposition of debitage for ritual purposes and represent accumulation over many years. We suspect this type of secondary deposition of debitage was also occurring at other rockshelters in Belize, based on comparisons to the chipped stone assemblages from these locations. We cannot discount the possibility that some stone tool production and use may have originally occurred in Deep Valley Rockshelter, but support for this is minimal.

The Buk Phase Burials of Belize: Testing Genetic Relatedness among Early Postclassic Groups in Northern Belize using Dental Morphology

Archaeology and Bioarchaeology of Population Movement among the Prehispanic Maya, edited by Andrea Cucina, 2015

Archaeological comparisons of Classic and Postclassic contexts from the Central Precinct at Laman... more Archaeological comparisons of Classic and Postclassic contexts from the Central Precinct at Lamanai, northern Belize, reveal that the community managed to maintain economic and social stability at the same time that the material culture underwent significant change. A key element during this transition was economic reorganization, which benefited from access to trade facilitated by a riverine location and a cosmopolitan culture established in the Classic period. The aim of this paper is to use dental morphology to test whether the Early Postclassic cultural changes reflected in the appearance of Zakpah ceramics and distinctive mortuary treatments among elites signal an influx of nonlocal people.

Small, Biased Burial Samples and Bioarchaeology: Introduction to The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place

Wrobel, G. (2014) Introduction. In The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place: Ideology, Power and Meaning in Maya Mortuary Contexts, edited by Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 1-14. New York: Springer Press., Apr 2014

A Likely Case of Scurvy in a Rural Early Classic Maya Burial from Actun Uayazba Kab, Belize

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Nov 2014

A Maya burial of a late adolescent (Burial 98-3) found in the rockshelter entrance of Actun Uayaz... more A Maya burial of a late adolescent (Burial 98-3) found in the rockshelter entrance of Actun Uayazba Kab (AUK), Belize, displays a combination of lesions that is consistent with scurvy. Signs include large, active lesions on the posterior surfaces of maxilla; relatively mild porotic hyperostosis along the midline of the skull on the parietals and occipital; cribra orbitalia; potential pinprick lesions on the greater wings of sphenoid and temporal; reactive lesions on the palate, temporal lines of frontal and parietals, and external and internal surfaces of zygomatics; small lesions on the popliteal surfaces of both femora; and periodontal disease. Identification of scurvy at AUK potentially informs the analysis of other primary burials and scattered bone found there and at other nearby sites, which often reveal evidence of nonspecific lesions that are usually attributed to anemia and infection, but that are also consistent with scurvy. The social and ecological context of this Protoclassic (0–AD 300) individual, who lived in a rural agricultural community with no evidence of complex social hierarchy, contrasts with typical discussions of disease among the Maya, which tend to focus on the degrading effects of overcrowding and resource deficiencies. While scurvy has been largely overlooked in the Maya area, this study supports earlier arguments for its presence that were based largely on clinical and ethnographic analogies and suggests the need to incorporate scurvy into broader synergistic models of ancient health.

A Case Study of Funerary Cave Use from Je’reftheel, Central Belize

by Gabriel Wrobel and Christophe Helmke

The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place: Ideology, Power and Meaning in Maya Mortuary Contexts, edited by Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 77-106. New York: Springer Press., Apr 2014

Bioarchaeological analysis of mortuary deposits from Je’reftheel, a small cave located in the Roa... more Bioarchaeological analysis of mortuary deposits from Je’reftheel, a small cave located in the Roaring Creek Works of central Belize, focused on characterizing the nature of mortuary activities conducted in the cave to determine whether the site was used for funerary or sacrificial purposes. In contrasting caves and cenotes, ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and epigraphic accounts of cave use by the Maya fairly consistently mention mortuary events that occur in caves, as funerary. The combined osteological and isotopic analyses from Je’reftheel are also consistent with models of funerary behavior among the Maya. The skeletal deposits comprise both primary, articulated bodies, and secondary deposits. Other data suggest that most of the individuals were of local origin and may have been closely related. Together, these results provide a strong analogy to funerary behavior documented in tombs throughout the Maya region and beyond.

Contextualizing the Glyphic Texts of Tipan Chen Uitz, Cayo District, Belize

Latin American Antiquity, Mar 2014

The View of Maya Mortuary Cave Ritual from Overlook Rockshelter (OVR), Caves Branch River Valley, Central Belize

Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, Sep 2013

Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of cen... more Archaeological investigations of the Overlook Rockshelter in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize offer a unique view of ancient Maya cave ritual through the complete recovery and analysis of all artifacts within the site's two small activity areas. In general, the assemblage contains many of the same types of objects documented from other nearby caves and rockshelters. However, the nearly 1700 ceramics sherds showed almost no refits, demonstrating that sherds were deposited at the site individually, rather than as complete vessels. The human bone assemblage represents three or four individuals, with the majority of the bones comprising a single individual, and all of these were deposited as incomplete secondary interments. Analogies for this depositional behavior based on archaeological and ethnographic studies suggest that this rockshelter may represent a waypoint within a ritual circuit composed of multiple locations over which fragments of complete items such as ceramic vessels and secondary burials were spread.

Stir It Up, Little Darlin’: The Chipped Stone from Mixed Deposits from Caves Branch Rockshelter, Belize

Canadian Journal of Archaeology, Aug 2013

This paper discusses the analysis of the chipped chert and obsidian assemblage excavated from Cav... more This paper discusses the analysis of the chipped chert and obsidian assemblage excavated from Caves Branch Rockshelter (CBR) and provides a reconstruction of the patterns of lithic reduction and tool use. This small rockshelter, located in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize, was primarily used as a burial location by local Maya communities from the Protoclassic to Terminal Classic periods (A.D. 80–950). However, both natural and cultural forces have badly disturbed and mixed deposits from different contexts within the site, thus severely hampering our ability to document the original deposition locations of lithic artifacts. The results of our analyses, which focused on the entire assemblage, demonstrated that reduction strategies varied by raw material type and provided evidence for some formal tool repair and expedient tool production. Based on use-wear analysis results, tools appear to have been mostly used for a variety of primarily daily domestic functions. We suspect the ancient Maya also used chert and obsidian artifacts as ritual objects, such as grave goods, offerings, and for sacrificial blood-letting, in CBR.

The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place: Ideology, Power and Meaning in Maya Mortuary Contexts

The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place investigates variations in social identity among the ancien... more The Bioarchaeology of Space and Place investigates variations in social identity among the ancient Maya by focusing on individuals and small groups identified archaeologically by their inclusion in specific, discrete mortuary contexts or by unusual mortuary treatments. Utilizing archaeological, biological, and taphonomic data from these contexts, the studies employ a variety of methodological approaches to reconstruct aspects of individuals’ life-course and mortuary pathways. Following this, specific mortuary behaviors are discussed in relation to their local or regional cultural setting using relevant archaeological, ethnohistoric, and/or ethnographic data in an effort to interpret their meaning within the broader social, political and economic contexts in which they were carried out. This volume covers a number of topics that are currently being debated in Maya archaeology, including identification and discussion of the role and extent of human sacrifice in Maya culture, the use of ancestors for maintaining political power, the mortuary use of caves by both elites and non-elites, ethnic distinctions within urban areas, and the extent of movement of people between communities. Importantly, the papers in this volume attempt to test and move beyond static, dichotic categories that are often employed in mortuary studies in an effort to better understand the complex ways in which the Maya conceptualized and manipulated social identity. This type of nuanced case-study approach that incorporates historical, archaeological, and theoretical contextualization is becoming increasingly important in the field of bioarchaeology, providing valuable sources of data where small, diverse samples impede populational approaches.

The Central Belize Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2013 Field Season

The Central Belize Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2015 Field Season

by Gabriel Wrobel, Susan M Kooiman, and Jack Biggs

The Central Belize Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2011 Field Season

of Armenia for the invaluable assistance they provided throughout the 2011 field season.

The Caves Branch Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2010 Field Season

The Caves Branch Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2009 Field Season

Report on the Caves Branch Rockshelter Excavations: 2006 and 2007 Field Seasons

The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project: A Report of the 2007 Field Season, edited by Christophe G.B. Helmke & Jaime J. Awe. Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History, Belmopan., 2008