Explaining variability in mutilated human bone assemblages from the American Southwest: A case study from the Southern Piedmont of Sleeping Ute Mountain, Colorado

Many scholars interpret assemblages of disarticulated human remains from An asazi sites as evidence of cannibalism. Other scholars argue that variation in the condition of these assemblages implies that many, if not all, resul ted from non-cannibalistic practices. This paper evaluates four well-docume nted cases of mutilated human bones from a dispersed community on the south ern piedmont of Ute Mountain, Colorado. Evidence indicates that all four si tes were suddenly abandoned around AD 1150, after events responsible for co rpse mutilation took place. Still, variations in processing methods were ob served between the sites and between two sets of remains at one site. The a uthors suggest that these, and similar assemblages in the Mesa Verde region , resulted from violent raiding involving cannibalism, and that minor proce ssing variations are consistent with the expediency inherent in such attack s. Copyright (c) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.