This study focuses on the assessment of the depositional activity that occurred in six caves of the Petexbatun region of the Peten, Guatemala through a quantitative analysis of the human skeletal material recovered from them. Five of these caves are associated with the site of Dos Pilas; the sixth cave (Cueva de Los Quetzales) is located beneath the site of Las Pacayas. The cave is an important aspect of the Maya worldview, as evidenced in the artifactual and skeletal material found in caves by archaeological exploration. My study is specifically focused on the assessment of the primary and/or secondary burial of Maya dead within these caves via analyses of the relative skeletal element frequencies, the minimum and probable number of individuals, and the identification of human cut marks. Based on these lines of evidence and data from preliminary reports, between 100 and 150 individuals of both sexes and various age groups were primarily deposited/buried in these caves. Secondary activity may be inferred based on evidence of human-made cut marks on several elements. There is no osteological evidence to support the hypothesis of human sacrifice. I was unable to determine the status of the individuals deposited in the caves. The best interpretation is that several types of depositional activity occurred within these caves over time.

Sepiolite is a clay mineral, a complex magnesium silicate, a typical formula for which is (OH2)4(OH)4Mg8Si12O30•8H2O. It is formed by blocks and cavities (tunnels) growing in the direction of the fibres. The tunnels, 3.7 x 10.6 Å in cross-section, are responsible for the high specific surface area and sorptive properties of sepiolite. The co-intercalation of 3-methyl cyclohex-2-en-1-one (MCH), the Douglas-Fir beetle anti-aggregation pheromone, with methanol, ethanol, acetone, or benzene into sepiolite tunnels was studied. The resulting nanohybrid materials were characterized by means of various techniques, such as multinuclear solid-state NMR spectroscopy, porosity studies and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). This was done in the hope of obtaining slow and controlled release of MCH from the sepiolite tunnels. It was demonstrated by 13C MAS NMR (carbon-13 magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance) that at room temperature there are two different MCH molecules: one MCH inside the tunnels and the other one outside the tunnels of the sepiolite. Heating nanohybrid materials at 60˚C for 20 hours removes the external MCH molecules from the sepiolite. 13C MAS NMR showed that by further heating nanohybrid materials at 120˚C for 20 hours, methanol, ethanol, or acetone peaks were greatly reduced; however, the benzene peak was not reduced. To better understand how benzene acts inside sepiolite, intercalation of d6-benzene, and co-intercalations of d6-benzene with MCH and d6-benzene with pyridine into sepiolite tunnels were carried out, and these samples were studied by the same techniques. Another technique was used in order to see whether the slow and controlled release of MCH from the sepiolite tunnels could be obtained: sepiolite-MCH nanohybrids were treated with 20 ml of 0.5 M HCl solution. It was found that when 1 gram of MCH-sepiolite sample was acid treated at room temperature, about 35% of intercalated MCH was removed from the sepiolite. The role of sepiolite clay was also studied in Maya-Blue representative structure sepiolite-indigo adduct. It is known that upon heating the sepiolite and indigo mixture, the stability that is present in Maya-Blue is achieved. It is still a mystery, however, how exactly indigo and sepiolite interact with each other.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 2006

Originally a Ph. D. thesis under the title Monumental Maya dewellings in the hieroglyphic and archaeological records. / Includes bibliographical references.

Originally a Ph. D. thesis under the title Monumental Maya dewellings in the hieroglyphic and archaeological records. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 319-325). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [68]-70).

Thesis (Ph. D. in Anthropology)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2008. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Union Graduate School. / Includes a bibliography.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2005. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Mar. 14, 2006) Available through UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Thesis adviser: Zubrow, Ezra. Includes bibliographical references.