Head shapes and toothaches: A study of cranial modification and dental pathology at MUNA, a late pre-Hispanic cemetery from the Archaeological Sanctuary of Pachacamac (Lima, Perú).

This thesis is a bioarchaeological analysis of cranial modification and dental pathology in a sample of human remains excavated from the pre-Hispanic MUNA cemetery. This cemetery was on the outskirts of the Archaeological Sanctuary of Pachacamac in the Lurín Valley. The cemetery was comprised of disturbed skeletal remains and relatively well preserved fardos funerarios (funerary bundles) from the Late Intermediate Period (1100-1470 CE) and early Late Horizon (1470-1532 CE). The results of this thesis show that the skeletal remains and fardos likely belonged to a single community, and the analyzed sample showed intra-site variation of the fronto-occipital cranial modification. The dental pathology results showed a relatively homogenous, carbohydrate-rich, and cariogenic. Comparisons with other Pachacamac and Central Coast samples suggested that the MUNA people were likely a coastal community that was local to the Central Coast and/or Pachacamac and the Lurín Valley. In the former scenario, the MUNA people could have participated in regional pilgrimage. This would be consistent with the current interpretation that during the Late Intermediate Period, Pachacamac was an important administrative and religious center in the Central Coast, but not across the Central Andes