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POLYDACTYLY AND THE MAYA: A REVIEW AND A CASE FROM THE SITE OF PELIGROSO, UPPER MACAL RIVER VALLEY, BELIZE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2012

Gabriel D. Wrobel ,
Christophe Helmke ,
Lenna Nash  and
Jaime J. Awe
Gabriel D. Wrobel*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, 355 Baker Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824
Christophe Helmke
Affiliation:
Department of American Indian Languages and CulturesInstitute of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
Lenna Nash
Affiliation:
Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, American Bottom Field Station, Wood River, Illinois 62095
Jaime J. Awe
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History, Belmopan, Belize
*
E-mail correspondence to: [email protected]
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Abstract

A single right fifth metatarsal found in Tomb 1 at Peligroso, Belize exhibited a small deformity in the form of a small (7 mm) accessory digit emanating from the plantar surface at mid-shaft. This Type A postaxial polydactyly is the first archaeological example of polydactyly reported for Mesoamerica. Polydactyly is one of the more commonly reported morphological anomalies and thus its appearance in Maya populations would have been prevalent enough to demand explanation. A review of related terminology in pertinent Amerindian languages is presented as a means of exploring the manners in which digits and the human body are conceptualized. Maya iconographic representations of polydactyly at Palenque have parallels to other Mesoamerican renderings of supernumerary digits used to identify divinities and deified ancestors. However, the Peligroso mortuary context comprised disarticulated and commingled bones, suggesting that the individual did not have a distinctive social role related to the presence of an extra digit.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , Spring 2012 , pp. 131 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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