Gerontocracia y/o gerontofilia. A propósito de los restos óseos humanos recuperados en tumbas prehispánicas de los Valles Centrales de Oaxaca

Abstract

In this work some reflections are presented on the social and cultural meaning of one of the relevant characteristics of pre-Hispanic funeral practices of the central Valleys of Oaxaca. When an older member of the dominant group of the region died, men or women were buried in tombs. The tombs were built near the areas of the family residence. Often the skeletal remains explored in these tombs manifest signs of severe osteological injury, such as osteoartritis and stomatological problems that surely demanded care and attention for those people under these circumstances. These characteristics and the remarkable absence of the infantile and juvenile remains inside the tombs can suggest government by elderly people (gerontocracy) or care tradition to the elderly people (gerontophilia).