Maya skeletal remains from the Copan and El Puente sites in Honduras

Abstract

The permanent teeth of two individuals from the 10J-45 compound in the Classic Maya site of Copan, Honduras, and the whole skeletons of two individuals from the El Puente site, a secondary Maya center of Copan, were morphologically observed and measured. Preliminary analyses of the well-preserved permanent teeth of the two El Puente individuals show that one is closest to Native South Americans and the other to Native North Americans. Although many human skeletal remains have already been excavated at these two sites, they have not fully been studied. In addition, many other archaeological sites in Honduras also remain to be investigated.