From remains to rituals : exploring the changing mortuary program at El Rayo, Nicaragua

• Main Author: Wilke, Sacha Jo-Ann
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43480

El Rayo is an archaeological site in Pacific Nicaragua that spans two time periods the Bagaces (AD 300-800) and Sapoa (AD 800-1350). In addition to the domestic assemblage of the site, El Rayo also contains burials from both time periods. El Rayo is one of the most well documented archaeological sites in Nicaragua and the presence of both Bagaces and Sapoa material makes it a valuable archaeological site. In comparing the burial assemblage, the patterns which appear in the archaeological record are distinct in the different time periods. These patterns, including the change in the location of burials from within domestic areas to specific mortuary contexts, a transition from single to multiple burials, and the inclusion of burial goods with the burials that appear to represent significant changes in the rituals associated with the burial of the dead. By exploring the mortuary program at El Rayo I argue that the changes represent the negotiation of a single community through changing cultural circumstances that mark and in some ways define the transition from the Bagaces Period to the Sapoa Period. The mortuary program shows continuity which supports the notion of cultural interactions without the complete replacement of one group by another. I focus on the burial area and the nature of the remains to interpret a changing mortuary program rather than focusing on the mortuary goods recovered with specific individuals. Based on Arthur Saxe’s Hypothesis 8 that argues for the connection between the use and maintenance of formal cemeteries and control of critical resources (1970:119). I suggest that the changing mortuary program is the result of increased population pressures and the desire to create public markers of identity and ownership of local resources.