Assemblages of the Dead: Interpreting the Biocultural and Taphonomic Signature of Afro-Cuban Palo Practice in Florida Allysha Powanda Winburn, Sarah Kiley Schoff, and Michael W. Warren C. A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory, University of Florida Anthropologists encounter what are commonly called “Santería skulls” in United States cities with large populations of Caribbean immigrants. These human skulls are frequently found within cauldrons, stained with wax, soil, or animal blood, and associated with mercury, beads, sticks, and faunal remains. To interpret these assemblages, anthropologists should consider them within the African diaspora cultural and religious contexts in which they were created and deposited. These contexts include not only the belief system of Ocha (Santería) but also the less well-known Palo. These Afro- Cuban religious formations can result in different material cultural signatures, and the patterns exhibited by the so-called Santería skulls are more consistent with Palo than Ocha. Informed by data from Florida forensic anthropology cases (n = 42), we synthesize a regional biocultural and taphonomic signature of related Palo practices. This study informs both anthropological investi- gations, and the cultural treatment of these extraordinary assemblages. There is, in reality, no such thing as a Santería skull, but it is only by incorpor- ating diverse data that anthropologists can reach this conclusion. keywords anthropology, taphonomy, ritual use of human remains, African diaspora religions, Cuba, Florida, Palo, Ocha In those regions of the United States hosting large populations of Latin American and Caribbean individuals (e.g., Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City), archae- ologists and forensic anthropologists frequently encounter cases known, in the par- lance of the field, as “Santería skulls.” These human skulls and portions of crania are frequently found within pots or cauldrons, stained with wax, soil, or animal blood, journal of african diaspora archaeology & heritage, 2016, 1–37 © Taylor & Francis 2016 DOI 10.1080/21619441.2016.1138760 This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage 2016:5(1), available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ full/10.1080/21619441.2016.1138760