Bioarchaeological Analysis of Human Skeletal Remains of Iron Age from the Shirakavan Cemetery, Shirak Plateau, Armenia

Abstract

Since the inauguration of the Proyecto Arqueológico Panamá Viejo (PAPV) in 1996, a significant number of pre-Hispanic and colonial funerary contexts have been excavated at the site. These excavations have shown the presence of two well-differentiated types of burials within the protected area. On the one hand, a wide range of burial patterns have been found associated to the long pre-Hispanic occupation of the site, which dates back to the fifth century AD. In contrast, funerary evidence corresponding to the colonial period (1519-1671) shows that a recurrent and limited number of inhumation practices tended to be used in that time. Because the human remains of the Panamá Viejo site were recovered over many years of fieldwork, the collection had not been analyzed according to consistent standards. Thanks to the support of the National Secretariat for Science, Technology, and Innovation of the Republic of Panama (SENACYT), it was possible to find a solution to these analytical inconsistencies through the development of a funerary archaeology project at the site. This article summarizes the results of this project, focusing on the bioanthropological data obtained from the analysis of human remains in cultural contexts. Thus, this work offers a good idea of the scope and potential of this project within the context of bioanthropological studies.