Historical trajectories and individual lives: cultural and isotopic approaches to funerary contexts at Naachtun (Guatemala)

In the analysis of funerary practices, burials that deviate from apparent standards always attract particular attention. In the Maya area, due to the regional variability of these practices, it may be tempting to attribute such anomalies to individuals of foreign origin. However, other possibilities exist. Recent advances in the understanding of the history and dynamics of the Maya city of Naachtun (Guatemala) provide an opportunity to examine this question from a historical perspective. This article explores this issue through a multidisciplinary approach, combining cultural studies and isotopic data from a set of 18 burials. While these initial results suggest that long-distance migration primarily involved elites and members of the ruling dynasty—particularly at the beginning and end of the city’s history—they also highlight a local-scale decoupling between variations in funerary practices and the origins of individuals.