Kratimenos, Panos; (2025) Burial position and mortuary practice as indicators of cultural and political change during the Maya ‘Collapse’ at Marco Gonzalez, Belize. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Kratimenos_PhDthesis_Final.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 October 2026. Download (45MB)

Abstract

‘Ventrally-placed, legs flexed’ (VPLF) burials are an unusual mortuary pathway seen at select sites within the eastern Maya lowlands, seemingly emerging around the time of the so-called Precolumbian Maya ‘Collapse’ (c. AD 800–1100). This transitional phase between Classic and Postclassic periods in the orthodox Precolumbian Maya chronology was a time of immense change across all realms of society, most evidently in the disappearance of the previously prominent political order of the k’uhul ajawob (holy lords) who ruled over myriad polities across the mundo maya. Intriguingly, VPLF burials appear to be found predominantly among the mortuary profile of sites which, unlike many of the largest and most influential polities across the southern lowlands, persisted into the Postclassic. Based on existing research, some of the earliest instances of VPLF burials appear to be found at the small island site of Marco Gonzalez, located on the southern tip of Ambergris Caye, Belize, before later occurrences inland. This study represents the first systematic exploration of the VPLF mortuary phenomenon, both at Marco Gonzalez and across the mundo maya more broadly. Here, the entire burial series from Marco Gonzalez is analysed in order to contextualise the emergence and spread of the VPLF mortuary pathway. Moreover, a database of burials from across the mundo maya has been constructed and interrogated in order to document the geographic and temporal extent of VPLF burials. Taking a holistic approach – including conducting fresh excavations at Marco Gonzalez, synthesising osteological and mortuary data and considering these in their archaeological context – the emergence and spread of VPLF across the mundo maya is explored in order to better understand this unusual mortuary pathway and the extent to which it reflects the broader changes occurring contemporaneously in terms of political, social, cultural and economic dynamics at this crucial point in Precolumbian history.

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