Last rites for the Tipu Maya: genetic structuring in a Colonial cemetery.

Last rites for the Tipu Maya: genetic structuring in a Colonial cemetery. KEITH P. JACOBI. Last rites for the Tipu Maya: genetic structuringin a Colonial cemetery. xiii+384 pages, 18 figures, 35 tables. 2000.Tuscaloosa (AL): University of Alabama Press; 0-8173-1025-8 paperback$32.95. The Maya town of Tipu, now in Belize, had come under Spanishcontrol by the 1560s. Thereafter, and until the rebellion of 1638,parishioners were buried within and around a simple church built by theSpanish. This clustered mortuary mor��tu��ar��yn.A place, especially a funeral home, where dead bodies are kept before burial or cremation. pattern was not a traditional Mayamode. Jacobi's impressive study of the people excavated from thischurch cemetery provides a valuable view of one group of southernlowland Maya of that period. Jacobi's brief introduction summarizes the many questions heasked about this biological population and makes the complexity of theanalytical task seem simple. The first chapter sets the stage byreviewing Spanish missionary efforts in the Tipu region, then at theperiphery of Spanish control. Tipu was visited infrequently by`circuit-riding priests' (p. 6) from the curate CURATE, eccl. law. One who represents the incumbent of a church, person, or20 vicar, and takes care of the church, and performs divine service in his stead. of Salamanca deBacalar in Yucatan, 175 miles (280 km) to the north by a difficult waterroute. How the Spanish sustained any influence at Tipu is a mattermeriting further attention. The chapter ends with a review of theexcavations, some notes on work at a second Spanish mission Spanish Mission may mean: Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture - an architectural style, or Mission Revival Style architecture - an architectural style, or Spanish Missions in California - the history of California Spanish missions in Texas site inBelize and a summary of the historical record from Tipu. Chapter 2 describes some European Catholic mortuary beliefs,supposedly to provide relevant data. Burial patterns associated withthree English Catholic graveyards are summarized. Jacobi also offers afew notes on Spanish mortuary customs that he assumes came to Tipu withthe missionaries. Chapter 3 describes various mortuary concepts from theMaya realm, but almost as if they formed a single, slightly variedpattern. Jacobi then compares these Maya ideas and burial activitieswith supposedly imported Catholic practices. A summary of dental genetics and how they are used to evaluate theTipu population (chapter 4) forms the strongest part of the book. Thisis an excellent approach to the problem of analysing these complexskeletal data. The very brief chapter 5 lists previous studies of Mayaosteology osteology/os��te��ol��o��gy/ (os?te-ol��ah-je) scientific study of the bones. os��te��ol��o��gyn.The branch of anatomy that deals with the structure and function of bones. and dentition dentition,kind, number, and arrangement of the teeth of humans and other animals. During the course of evolution, teeth were derived from bony body scales similar to the placoid scales on the skin of modern sharks. and considers methods of population evaluation.The dental data (518 of the 585 Tipuans recovered had at least someteeth) and methods of study used at Tipu are summarized in chapter 6. The 90 oddly organized pages of `Life and death at Tipu'(chapter 7) present the results of Jacobi's analysis plus hisattempt at defining `groups' within this burial zone. His searchfor Spanish traits among the Tipuans reveals how little comparativeosteological data is available (cf. chapter 5). Several problems may benoted. For example, now available data on shovel-shaped incisors amongseveral European populations demonstrates the fallacy of equating thistrait with `Mongoloid populations', Jacobi also accepts Miller& Farriss' (1979) old inference that Catholic European churchessegregated interments by gender. Some evidence is noted at Tipu for theburial of higher-status individuals within the church, but Jacobiconfuses status and sex variables in evaluating these locations. Hispowerful review of dental genetics and variations within the Tipupopulation provides an important database for future studies. Ofparticular note is the presence of `palatal pal��a��taladj.Palatine.palatal (pal´t canines (Figure 7.6)',a trait that I noted on both sacrificed boys with the elite Burial 160at Tikal. Jacobi's conclusions (chapter 8) summarize the mass ofevidence presented, but include no direct citations. Very little isprovided in the way of testable results. Jacobi again mentions `familyplots' (pp. 187, 83) but presents no evidence to support theirexistence. The seven extremely useful appendixes that follow actuallyform the majority of this volume. The bibliography appears extensive,but specialists will find it wanting. The index is far from inclusive. The dental data forming the strong core of this volume aresurrounded by cultural and archaeological data of limited relevance.Problematical assumptions and small errors abound. For example, shroudpins (p. 172) were commonly used everywhere in post-medieval Europe, andby Quakers and others in colonial America, not only by Catholics. YetJacobi's dental study, evaluating the actual remains of peoplewithin their cultural milieu, forms an important contribution to thestudy of the Maya. Jacobi's synthesis of these data sets a standardfor future studies, particularly as only a few comparable works exist.These are mostly from medieval and post-medieval British contexts andone from Iron Age Italy. What were the changes in traditional Tipuan lifestyle postulated pos��tu��late?tr.v. pos��tu��lat��ed, pos��tu��lat��ing, pos��tu��lates1. To make claim for; demand.2. To assume or assert the truth, reality, or necessity of, especially as a basis of an argument.3. byJacobi? Classic period Maya burials generally were placed beneath orwithin residential as well as ritual structures. The decline in buildingactivities during the Postclassic period reduced their opportunity toemploy that mortuary pattern. Not indicated by Jacobi is the possibilitythat Catholic churches, with their clustered graves, may have beenadopted by the Maya because they resolved the Post-classic periodproblem of disposing of the dead at a time when few large structureswere being built. The new pattern provided a syncretism syn��cre��tism?n.1. Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous.2. between the twocultural forms, and thus may be a weak piece of evidence for Spanishinfluences on these ancient Maya. The biological evidence provided byJacobi, however, stands as a contribution against which future Maya bonestudies will have to be measured. Reference MILLER, A.G. & N.M. FARRISS. 1979. Religious syncretism inColonial Yucatan: the archaeological and ethnohistorical evidnece fromTancah, Quintana Roo Quintana Roo(kēntä`nä rō`ō), state (1990 pop. 493,277), 19,630 sq mi (50,842 sq km), SE Mexico, on the Caribbean. Chetumal is the capital. , in N. Hammond & G.R. Willey (ed.), Mayaarchaeology and ethnohistory eth��no��his��to��ry?n.The study of especially native or non-Western peoples from a combined historical and anthropological viewpoint, using written documents, oral literature, material culture, and ethnographic data. : 223-40. Austin (TX): University of TexasPress.MARSHALL JOSEPH BECKERWest Chester Universitymbecker@wcupa.edu