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Name /uap04/22015_u20 04/28/04 01:56PM Plate # 0-Composite pg 474 # 1 ⫺1 0 ⫹1 474 Chapter 20 T H E T U R N E R - H O P E W E L L I D E O L O G I C A L A X I S Mound 1 (fig. 19.1) was located “inside” the Great Enclosure at the northeast entry (fig. 2.11). It was a low mound (ca. 1.75 m) and its perimeter covered a low circular wall of flat stones, 0.35 m high and about 0.7 m thick, with a diameter of ca. 19.6 m, enclosing a floor covered with a layer of “concrete” composite of ashes, gravel, and coarse sand. A bit east of the center of the floor there was a 2.5 m circular fireplace containing four pottery vessels and ashes with mixed charcoal, flint flakes, and, interestingly, “charred corn and corn-cobs”.1 There were six mortuary deposits, five immediately under and one above the floor (fig. 20.1). Four major mortuary pit features circumscribed the central fireplace. Three were located to its northeast, Grave 1, Grave 12, and Grave 13, and one immediately to its southwest, Grave 16. All were aligned in the same SE–NW direction. These mortuary deposits serve as a good test case because most involved extended burials, suggesting a minimum of post-mortem manipulation. For this reason they challenge the claim of the Laying-In/World Renewal Crypt Model. Graves 12 and 13, each containing one adult extended inhumation, were aligned on the same SE-NW axis, separated by about 1.4 m. The deceased in Grave 12 was placed with the head to the northwest and the deceased in Grave 13 had the head oriented to the southeast, sug- Name /uap04/22015_u20 04/28/04 01:56PM Plate # 0-Composite pg 475 # 2 t u r n e r - h o p e w e l l i d e o l o g i c a l a x i s 475 ⫺1 0 ⫹1 gesting that these two pit features were deliberately aligned along the same axis, and that the two deceased were placed so as to be complementary opposites in terms of head-feet direction. No artifacts were associated with either. While they display no post-mortem manipulation , supporting the view that they were focal participants rather than symbolic warrants of the mortuary practices their burials mediated, several other aspects speak against this conclusion. For example, the positioning of the two pits on the same axis and the reverse head-feet orientation of the deceased suggest that these were part of a single, complex, and coordinated event that manifested ritual intentions surplus to funerary concerns. Seeing these mortuary deposits within the total context, as further described below, supports the conclusion that these mediated mortuary rites that had a nonfunerary nature. Grave 16 was a large pit feature, about 2.8 m long and 1.6 m wide, containing three adult extended burials, all three placed with the heads northwest and level with one another. This is interesting since, as seen from figure 20.1, the individuals were apparently of different heights. The heads were about one foot apart. Given that the pit was only about 1.6 m wide, this suggests a rather tight fit. The two “outer” deceased had associated artifacts. One had about two hundred pearls by the right tibia and a platform pipe with two bowls at its right knee. The other “outer” deceased had an ocean shell container, several shell ornaments and large pearls at its feet, a shell spoon item at its left knee, and in its left hand a cut shell container. The central inhumation had no associated items (31). With the exception of the crowded nature of this compound mortuary deposit, all this would suggest a compound funerary event. However , since a number of the items listed with the “outer” inhumations were on the sides of the bodies furthest from the wall, these could easily be associated with the central inhumation. Alternatively, given that all but one of these items were found by the feet and legs, it is possible that both the deceased and the material artifacts were intended either as offerings or else, as was the case for a number of the mortuary deposits in the Western CBL, that the artifacts were inadvertently mis- [3.145.36.10] Project MUSE (2024-04-24 06:46...

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