"Burying Kin: Mortuary Practices, Body Modification, and Social Relationships in Coastal Ecuador 100 BCE - 1000 CE", lecture by Dr. Sara Juengst

Event Description:

Humans mark themselves and each other with shared identities in many ways. In ancient Ecuador, this included modifying skull shape, incising and inlaying teeth with precious metals, and burying people at special locations and in special ways. (Bio)archaeologists use these identifiers in order to understand broader patterns of power and community in the past. In this talk, we will explore the various methods and meanings of body modification in coastal Ecuador as one way to understand how people identified themselves, with each other, and with the broader cosmos.