Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T05:41:06.089Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

RESIDENTIAL BURIAL ALONG THE SOUTHERN STREET OF THE DEAD: SKELETONS AND ISOTOPES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2019

Rebecca Storey ,
Gina M. Buckley Open the ORCID record for Gina M. Buckley [Opens in a new window]  and
Douglas J. Kennett
Rebecca Storey*
Affiliation:
Anthropology Program, Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Houston, 3623 Cullen Blvd, Room 233, Houston, Texas 77204
Gina M. Buckley
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
Douglas J. Kennett
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
*
E-mail correspondence to: rstorey@uh.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Skeletal remains from Tlajinga 33 (33:S3W1) have been the focus of research in the southern sector of Teotihuacan since excavations took place in the 1980s. Recent excavations in Tlajinga Compounds 17 and 18 (17:S3E1 and 18:S3E1, respectively), located along the southern Street of the Dead, recovered nine additional skeletons. This article is a description of the burials from Compounds 17 and 18 and a comparative analysis of health, diet, and chronology across all three compounds (Compounds 17, 18, and 33). Here, we test the hypothesis that individuals between residential compounds at Tlajinga lived similar lives and that health and biogeochemical markers of individuals will reflect these similarities. Although the sample size is small, the paleopathological analysis of individuals at Compounds 17 and 18 indicates morbidity patterns similar to Tlajinga 33, but also that these residents were perhaps less susceptible to stressors during periods of juvenile growth. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes suggest that, overall, diets were analogous across compounds, but Compounds 17 and 18 were able to supplement their diet with a greater variety of plant resources. There were no clear dietary differences between higher and lower status individuals, however. Finally, accelerated mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dates indicate that residential living may have occurred later at Compound 18 than at Compound 17 and Tlajinga 33.

Type
Special Section: Urban Life on Teotihuacan's Periphery–New Research at the Tlajinga District
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , Spring 2019 , pp. 147 - 161
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ambrose, Stanley H., Buikstra, Jane E., and Krueger, Harold W. 2003 Gender and Status Difference in Mound 72, Cahokia, Revealed by Isotopic Analysis of Bone. Journal of Archaeology 22:217–226.Google Scholar
Ambrose, Stanley H., and Krigbaum, John 2003 Bone Chemistry and Bioarchaeology. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 22:193–199.Google Scholar
Ambrose, Stanley H., and Norr, Lynette 1993 Experimental Evidence for the Relationship of the Carbon Isotope Ratios of Whole Diet and Dietary Protein to those of Bone Collagen and Carbonate. In Prehistoric Human Bone: Archaeology at the Molecular Level, edited by Lambert, Joseph B. and Grupe, Gisela, pp. 1–38. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Bender, Margaret M. 1971 Variations in the 13C/12C Ratios of Plants in Relation to the Pathway of Photosynthetic Carbon Dioxide Fixation. Phytochemistry 10:1239–1244.Google Scholar
Bender, Margaret M., Rouhani, Io, Vines, H. M., and Black, CoCo Jr. 1973 13C/12C Ratio Changes in Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Plants. Plant Physiology 52:427–430.Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, Christopher 2013 OxCal Version 4.2.4. Electronic program, https://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/oxcal.html.Google Scholar
Brown, Thomas A., Early Nelson, D., Vogel, John S., and Southon, John R. 1988 Improved Collagen Extraction by Modified Longin Method. Radiocarbon 30:171–177.Google Scholar
Carballo, David M., Hirth, Kenneth G., Sariñana, Daniela Hernández, Buckley, Gina M., Ramón, Andrés G. Mejía, and Kennett, Douglas J. 2019 New Research at Teotihuacan's Tlajinga District, 2012–2015. Ancient Mesoamerica 30:95–113.Google Scholar
Casar, Isabel, Morales, Pedro, Manzanilla, Linda R., Cienfuegos, Edith, and Otero, Francisco 2017 Dietary Differences in Individuals Buried in a Multiethnic Neighborhood in Teotihuacan: Stable Dental Isotopes from Teopancazco. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 9:99–115.Google Scholar
Cowgill, George L. 2015 Ancient Teotihuacan: Early Urbanism in Central Mexico. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Crumley, Carole L. 1995 Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Societies. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 6:1–5.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J. 1985 Postmortem Preservation and Alteration of In Vivo Bone Collagen Isotope Ratios in Relation to Paleodietary Reconstruction. Nature 317:806–809.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J. 1987 Stable Isotope and Archaeology. American Scientist 75:182–191.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Schoeninger, Margaret J. 1983 Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen: Variations Within Individuals, Between Sexes, and Within Populations Raised on Monotonous Diets. Journal of Archaeological Science 10:199–203.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Epstein, Samuel 1978 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Carbon Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42:495–506.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Epstein, Samuel 1981 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 45:341–351.Google Scholar
Froehle, Andrew W., Kellner, Corina M., and Schoeninger, Margaret J. 2012 Multivariate Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Model for the Reconstruction of Prehistoric Human Diet. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 147:352–369.Google Scholar
Goodman, Alan H. 1998 The Biological Consequences of Inequality in Antiquity. In Building a New Biocultural Synthesis: Political and Economic Perspectives on Human Biology, edited by Goodman, Alan H. and Leatherman, Thomas L., pp. 147–164. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Hedges, Robert E. M., and Reynard, Linda M. 2007 Nitrogen Isotopes and the Trophic Level of Humans in Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science 34:1240–1251.Google Scholar
Hedges, Robert E. M., Stevens, Rhiannon E., and Koch, Paul L. 2006 Isotopes in Bones and Teeth. In Isotopes in Paleoenviromental Research, edited by Leng, Melanie J., pp. 117–145. Springer-Verlag, Dordrecht.Google Scholar
Hirth, Kenneth G., Carballo, David M., Dennison, Mark, Carr, Sean, Imfeld, Sarah, and Dyrdahl, Eric 2019 Excavation of an Obsidian Craft Workshop at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 30:163–179.Google Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J., Culleton, Brendan J., Dexter, Jamie, Mensing, Scott A., and Thomas, David Hurst 2014 High-precision AMS 14C Chronology for Gatecliff Shelter, Nevada. Journal of Archaeological Science 52:621–632.Google Scholar
Kennett, Douglas J., Plog, Stephen, George, Richard J., Culleton, Brendan J., Watson, Adam S., Skoglund, Pontus, Rohland, Nadin, Mallick, Swapan, Stewardson, Kristin, Kistler, Logan, LeBlanc, Steven A., Whiteley, Peter M., Reich, David, and Perry, George H. 2017 Archaeogenomic Evidence Reveals Prehistoric Matrilineal Dynasty. Nature Communications 8:14115.Google Scholar
Lohse, Jon C., Madsen, David B., Culleton, Brendan J., and Kennett, Douglas J. 2014 Isotope Paleoecology of Episodic Mid-to-Late Holocene Bison Population Expansions in the Southern Plains, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 102:14–26.Google Scholar
Lounejeva Baturina, Elena, Puente, Pedro Morales, Cabadas Báez, Hector V., Alvarado, Edith Cienfuegos, Sedov, Sergey, Gómez, Ernestina Vallejo, and Rebolledo, Elizabeth Solleiro 2006 Late Pleistocene to Holocene Environmental Changes from δ13C Determinations in Soils at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Geofísica Internacional 45:85–98.Google Scholar
McClung de Tapia, Emily, and Martínez-Yrizar, Diana 2017 The Potential of Paleoethnobotanical Evidence for the Study of Teotihuacan Foodways. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 9:39–50.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda 2009 Corporate Life in Apartment and Barrio Compounds at Teotihuacan, Central Mexico: Craft Specialization, Hierarchy, and Ethnicity. In Domestic Life in Prehispanic Capitals: A Study of Specialization, Hierarchy, and Ethnicity, edited by Manzanilla, Linda R. and Chapdelaine, Claude, pp. 21–42. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda 2012 Neighborhoods and Elite “Houses” at Teotihuacan, Central Mexico. In The Neighborhood as a Social and Spatial Unit in Mesoamerican Cities, edited by Arnauld, M. Charlotte, Manzanilla, Linda R., and Smith, Michael E., pp. 55–73. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Millon, Rene, Drewitt, Bruce, and Cowgill, George L. 1973 Urbanization at Teotihuacan: The Teotihuacan Map. Vol. 1, Part 2. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Morales Puente, Pedro, Alvarado, Edith Cienfuegos, Manzanilla, Linda R., and Otero, Francisco J. 2012 Estudio de la paleodieta empleando isótopos estables de los elementos carbono, oxígeno y nitrógeno en restos humanos y fauna encontrados en el barrio Teotihuacano de Teopancazco, Teotihuacan. In Estudios arqueométricos del centro de barrio de Teopancazco en Teotihuacan, edited by Manzanilla, Linda, pp 347–422. Coordinación de la Investigación Científica–Coordinación de Humanidades, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Nado, Kristin L., Zolotova, Natalya, and Knudson, Kelly J. 2017 Paleodietary Analysis of the Sacrificial Victims from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 9:117–132.Google Scholar
O'Leary, Marion H. 1988 Carbon Isotopes in Photosynthesis. Bioscience 38:328–336.Google Scholar
Rakita, Gordon F. M., Buikstra, Jane E., Beck, Lane E., and Williams, Sloan R. (editors) 2005 Interacting with the Dead: Perspectives on Mortuary Archaeology for the New Millennium. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn 1992 The Teotihuacan Burials and Offerings: A Commentary and Inventory. Vanderbilt University Publications in Anthropology, No. 42. Vanderbilt University, Nashville.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn 2001 Teotihuacan: Cerámica, Cronología y Tendencias Culturales. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Reimer, Paula J., Bard, Edouard, Bayliss, Alex, Warren Buck, J., Blackwell, Paul G., Ramsey, Christopher Bronk, Buck, Caitlin E., Cheng, Hai, Edwards, R. Lawrence, Friedrich, Michael, Grootes, Pieter M., Guilderson, Thomas P., Haflidason, Haflidi, Hajdas, Irka, Hatté, Christine, Heaton, Timothy J., Hoffman, Dirk L., Hogg, Alan G., Hughen, Konrad A., Felix Kaiser, K., Kromer, Bernd, Manning, Sturt W., Niu, Mu, Reimer, Ron W., Richards, David A., Marian Scott, E., Southon, John R., Staff, Richard A., Turney, Christian S. M., and Plicht, Johannes van der 2013 IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0-50,000 Years Cal BP. Radiocarbon 55:1869–1887.Google Scholar
Santos, G.M., Southon, J.R., Druffel-Rodriguez, K.C., Griffin, S., and Mazon, M. 2004 Magnesium Perchlorate as an Alternative Water Trap in AMS Graphite Sample Preparation: A Report on Sample Preparation at KCCAMS at the University of California, Irvine. Radiocarbon 46:165–174.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, Margaret J., and DeNiro, Michael J. 1984 Nitrogen and Carbon Isotopic Composition of Bone Collagen from Marine and Terrestrial Animals. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 48:625–639.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, Margaret J., DeNiro, Michael J., and Tauber, Henrik 1983 Stable Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen Reflect Marine and Terrestrial Components of Prehistoric Human Diet. Science 220:1381–1383.Google Scholar
Spence, Michael W. 1981 Obsidian Production and the State in Teotihuacan. American Antiquity 46:769–788.Google Scholar
Stafford, Thomas W., Brendel, Klaus, and Duhamel, Raymond C. 1988 Radiocarbon, 13C and 15N Analysis of Fossil Bone: Removal of Humates with XAD-2 Resin. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52:2257–2267.Google Scholar
Stafford, Thomas W., Edgar Hare, P., Currie, Lloyd, Timothy Jull, A.J., and Donahue, Douglas J. 1991 Accelerator Radiocarbon Dating at the Molecular Level. Journal of Archaeological Science 18:35–72.Google Scholar
Steckel, Richard H., and Rose, Jerome C. (editors) 2002 The Backbone of History: Health and Nutrition in the Western Hemisphere. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca 1992 Life and Death in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca, Morfin, Lourdes Marquez, and Fernandez, Luis 2017 Hierarchy and Urbanism in Precolumbian Central Mexico. In Bones of Complexity, edited by Klaus, Haagen, Harvey, Amanda, and Cohen, Mark N., pp. 388–407. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca, and Widmer, Randolph J. 2012 A Master Artisan? Tribute to the Founder of a Teotihuacan Apartment Compound. In The Bioarchaeology of Individuals, edited by Stodder, Ann and Palkovich, Ann, pp. 162–176. University of Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Tieszen, Larry L., and Fagre, Tim 1993 Effect of Diet Quality and Composition on the Isotopic Composition of Respiratory CO2, Bone Collagen, Bioapatite, and Soft Tissues. In Prehistoric Human Bone, pp. 121–155. Springer, Berlin.Google Scholar
van Klinken, Gert J. 1999 Bone Collagen Quality Indicators for Palaeodietary and Radiocarbon Measurements. Journal of Archaeological Science 26:687–695.Google Scholar
Walker, Philip L., Bathhurst, Rhonda, Richman, Rebecca, Gjerdrum, Thor, and Andrushko, Valerie A. 2009 The Causes of Porotic Hyperostosis and Cribra Orbitalia: A Reappraisal of the Iron-Deficiency Hypothesis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 139:109–125.Google Scholar
Warinner, Christina, Garcia, Nelly Robles, and Tuross, Noreen 2013 Maize, Beans and the Floral Isotopic Diversity of Highland Oaxaca, Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 40:868–873.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael W., Longstaffe, Fred J., and Law, Kimberley R. 2004a Demography and Ethnic Continuity in the Tlailotlacan Enclave of Teotihuacan: The Evidence from Stable Oxygen Isotopes. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23:385–403.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Storey, Rebecca, Longstaffe, Fred J., and Spence, Michael W. 2004b Immigration, Assimilation, and Status in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan: Stable Isotopic Evidence from Tlajinga 33. Latin American Antiquity 15:176–198.Google Scholar
Widmer, Randolph J. 1991 Lapidary Craft Specialization at Teotihuacan: Implications for Community Structure at 33:S3W1 and Economic Organization in the City. Ancient Mesoamerica 2:131–141.Google Scholar
Widmer, Randolph J. 2019 Lapidary Craft Production in 17:S3E1 and 18:S3E1, the Tlajinga District, Teotihuacan. Ancient Mesoamerica 30:181–197.Google Scholar
Widmer, Randolph J., and Storey, Rebecca 2012 The “Tlajinga Barrio”: A Distinctive Cluster of Neighborhoods in Teotihuacan. In The Neighborhood as a Social and Spatial Unit in Mesoamerican Cities, edited by Charlotte Arnauld, M., pp. 102–116. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Widmer, Randolph J., and Storey, Rebecca 2017 Skeletal Health and Patterns of Animal Food Consumption at S3W1:33 (Tlajinga 33), Teotihuacan. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 9:51–60.Google Scholar
Wood, James W., Milner, George R., Harpending, Henry C., Weiss, Kenneth M., Cohen, Mark N., Eisenberg, Leslie E., Hutchinson, Dale L., Jankauskas, Rimantas, Česnys, Gintautas, Anne Katzenberg, M., Lukacs, John R., McGrath, Janet W., Roth, Eric Abella, Ubelaker, Douglas H., and Wilkinson, Richard G. 1992 The Osteological Paradox: Problems of Inferring Prehistoric Health from Skeletal. Current Anthropology 33:343–370.Google Scholar
Zanden, M. Vander, Jake, and Rasmussen, Joseph B. 2001 Variation in δ15N and δ13C Trophic Fractionation: Implications for Aquatic Food Web Studies. Limnology and Oceanography 46:2061–2066.Google Scholar