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Place of Origin of Prehistoric Inhabitants of Aztalan, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

T. Douglas Price ,
James H. Burton  and
James B. Stoltman
T. Douglas Price
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry, 1180 Observatory Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (tdprice@wisc.edu)
James H. Burton
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry, 1180 Observatory Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (tdprice@wisc.edu)
James B. Stoltman
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry, 1180 Observatory Drive, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (tdprice@wisc.edu)
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Abstract

The archaeological site of Aztalan in southeastern Wisconsin is a large, palisaded complex of mounds and other structures along the banks of the Crawfish River in Jefferson County. The unusual nature of this settlement has been noted for many years and the origin of the inhabitants has been the subject of considerable debate. The similarities between the materials at Aztalan and other Mississippian period sites to the south in Illinois have long been noted. The largest center of the Mississippian culture at Cahokia near East St. Louis, Illinois, has often been cited as the likely home of the founders of Aztalan. Using strontium isotopes in human teeth and bone we examine the question of migration and the possibility of nonlocal individuals among the skeletal remains from Aztalan. Our results suggest that there were a number of foreign individuals among the locals. The isotopic signal for some of the foreigners matches values from Cahokia, but does not prove that this was their place of origin.

Résumé

Résumé

El sitio arqueológico de Aztalan al sureste del estado de Wisconsin es un complejo grande de montículos y otras estructuras palizadas ubicadas en las orillas del Río Crawfish, en el condado Jefferson. El carácter inusual de este asentamiento se ha notado por muchos años y el origen de sus habitantes ha sido motivo de un debate considerable. Semejanzas entre los materiales presentes en Aztalan y otros sitios del periodo Mississippian al sur de Illinois son de común conocimiento. Cahokia, el centro más grande de la cultura Mississippian al este de St. Louis, Illinois, ha sido frecuentemente citado como el origen más probable de los fundadores de Aztalan. Usando los isótopos del estroncio en los dientes y huesos humanos, examinamos la cuestión de migración y la posibilidad de individuos no locales entre los restos esqueletos de Aztalan. Nuestros resultados sugieren la presencia de algunos individuos extranjeros entre los locales. Aunque la señal isotópica de algunos extranjeros iguala las cifras encontradas en Cahokia, aun no podemos concluir que estos individuos se hubiesen originado en este sitio.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 72 , Issue 3 , July 2007 , pp. 524 - 538
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2007

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