0000000001074397
AUTHOR
Henk Van Keulen
New results in ancient Maya rituals researches: The study of human painted bones fragments from Calakmul archaeological site (Mexico)
Abstract The funeral chambers of the ancient city of Calakmul (Mexico) and the individuals who were buried in them have brought in recent decades new knowledge about the beliefs and funeral customs of the pre-Hispanic Maya. Tombs and bodies were prepared as part of the rituals that should favor the return of ch'ulel to the Underworld, known as Xibalba by the ancient Maya. The ch'ulel is one of the two anemic entities that inhabit the individual, equivalent to our concept of the soul. Bodies preparation included coloured scented body ointments application, with a deep symbolic connotation and probably also a conservative purpose. The aim of this research was to characterize pigments and bind…
Life after death: a physicochemical study of materials used by the ancient Maya in human bone ointments
Ancient Maya believed in life after death. They used to prepare dead bodies during burial ceremonies whose purpose was to celebrate the dead and to help them passing through the way from earthly life to the beyond one. Bodies preparation included coloured scented body ointment application, with a deep symbolic connotation and probably also a conservative purpose. The aim of this research was to characterize pigments and binders used by ancient Maya in the preparation of body oint ments used to paint human bones. Emblematic painted bone samples from Xcambó (Maya archaeological site located in the municipality of Dzemul, in the Mexican state of Yucatán) were investigated through a non-destruc…