Human Skeletal Remains Recovered from a Napo Funerary Urn in the Ecuadorian Amazon: A Taphonomic and Mortuary Assessment.

There is very little published literature regarding pre-Columbian burial practices that include human skeletal remains of the Napo culture (A.D. 1188-1480) in the western Amazon. Due to poor bone preservation and a history of looting practices, bioarchaeologists have rarely been able to collect, analyze, and interpret skeletal remains. Here, we provide the initial publication of a human skeleton from the Ecuadorian Amazon elonging to the Napo culture, preserved in a funerary urn acquired by the Museo de Arte Precolombino Casa del Alabado in Quito, Ecuador. This partial adult skeleton, radiocarbon dated to cal A.D. 1021-1155, consists primarily of broken long bones that indicate a robust individual with a height range of 160-170 cm. Although no trauma was observed, pathological conditions including cysts and likely Osgood-Schlatter's disease were present and robust muscle insertions were noted. Taphonomic damage from termite osteophagy was inferred by the presence of round bore holes, cavities, tunneling, and cortical etching on the humerus, femur, and tibia. The urn itself is an anthropomorphic polychrome vessel that opens at the bottom, with six equally spaced holes to facilitate closure. The urn burial is similar to those of other Amazonian Polychrome Tradition cultures located to the east in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]