Leiden University Student Repository

Verstraaten, Nienke (2013)

The Bones of our Ancestors The relation between ancestor veneration, the cult of Lady 9 Grass and tomb reuse at Monte Albán, Tomb 7

Bachelor thesis | Archeologie (BA)

Monte Albán Tomb 7 is one of the more enigmatic burial tombs in the valley of Oaxaca. It is still unsure as to why the deposits are so fragmented and what the grave goods might have meant within the context of this tomb. Many different theories have been carefully devised to explain the circumstances of Tomb 7 and for the purpose of this thesis, two have been chosen to serve as an explanation. The theories as they were put forward by McCafferty et al. (1994), concerning Tomb 7 in relation to the veneration of the cult goddess Lady 9 Grass as well as the theories devised by Middleton et al. (1998) which explained the tomb through the concept of grave reuse, will be applied here to shed light on the situation of Tomb 7. Both will be examined and then related to the concepts of ancestor veneration. Through comparing the theories together and attempting to find common ground they both share within the spectrum of ancestor veneration, it will be attempted to fuse the theories together to...Show moreMonte Albán Tomb 7 is one of the more enigmatic burial tombs in the valley of Oaxaca. It is still unsure as to why the deposits are so fragmented and what the grave goods might have meant within the context of this tomb. Many different theories have been carefully devised to explain the circumstances of Tomb 7 and for the purpose of this thesis, two have been chosen to serve as an explanation. The theories as they were put forward by McCafferty et al. (1994), concerning Tomb 7 in relation to the veneration of the cult goddess Lady 9 Grass as well as the theories devised by Middleton et al. (1998) which explained the tomb through the concept of grave reuse, will be applied here to shed light on the situation of Tomb 7. Both will be examined and then related to the concepts of ancestor veneration. Through comparing the theories together and attempting to find common ground they both share within the spectrum of ancestor veneration, it will be attempted to fuse the theories together to form one whole that might serve to explain the burial context of Monte Albán Tomb 7.Show less

mexico

ancestor veneration

Monte Alban

Tomb 7

Lady 9 Grass

grave re-use

Author

Verstraaten, Nienke

Faculty

Faculty of Archaeology

Specialisation

Bioarchaeology

Supervisors

Rojas Martínez Gracida, Araceli

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en