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The missing femur at the Mitla Fortress and its implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2010

Gary M. Feinman ,
Linda M. Nicholas  and
Lindsey C. Baker
Gary M. Feinman
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA (Email: gfeinman@fieldmuseum.org; lnicholas@fieldmuseum.org)
Linda M. Nicholas
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA (Email: gfeinman@fieldmuseum.org; lnicholas@fieldmuseum.org)
Lindsey C. Baker
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology - 4502, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA (Email: lbaker@siu.edu)
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Abstract

The authors explore the practice of extracting the thighbone from burials in Mesoamerica, making use of a newly excavated Classic period Zapotec burial at the Mitla Fortress, where the femur had been carefully removed and the interment resealed. They conclude that the femur acted as an ancestral emblem and could be used by families of relatively low social rank. This function contrasts with the Aztec, where the large bones could also be used as war trophies. Archaeological readers studying ancestor worship and the cult of relics in other continents will find much of value here.

Keywords

MexicoOaxacaClassic periodZapotecAztecMayaburialrankritualrelicsancestors
Type
Research articles
Information
Antiquity , Volume 84 , Issue 326 , December 2010 , pp. 1089 - 1101
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2010

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