Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:40:56.666Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Immigration, Assimilation, and Status in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan: Stable Isotopic Evidence from Tlajinga 33

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Christine D. White ,
Rebecca Storey ,
Fred J. Longstaffe  and
Michael W. Spence
Christine D. White
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, Suite 2, London, ON N6A 5C2, Canada
Rebecca Storey
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Houston, 233 McElhinney, Houston, TX 77204-5020
Fred J. Longstaffe
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C2, Canada
Michael W. Spence
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario. Biology and Geological Sciences Building, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Stable carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen and oxygen isotope ratios in bone and enamel phosphate from 25 individuals from the residential compound of Tlajinga 33 were used to examine the possibility that the inhabitants, who were craft producers, may have accepted immigrants to maintain either their ability to reproduce themselves as a social group or their level of economic productivity. Bone δ18O and δ13C values provide a long-term picture of geographic identity and diet, and enamel δ18O values provide a snapshot of geographic location during particular tooth development. A considerable proportion (29 percent) of the Tlajinga 33 inhabitants grew up elsewhere, but the majority of these immigrants had dwelt in Teotihuacan for many years before their death. Neither geographical relocation nor dietary differences are significantly associated with gender. The social position of foreigners appears to have been generally high. For example, the occupants of Tomb 50 appear to have come from elsewhere, possibly West Mexico, but foreigners were also found in lower status contexts such as middens. The stable isotope ratios reflecting long-term dwelling at Teotihuacan suggest that social status was achieved, which supports current archaeological evidence. Furthermore, the lack of dietary differences between immigrants and native Teotihuacanos may also imply political and/or ethnic assimilation.

Las proporciones de isótopos estables de carbono en colágeno de hueso y las proporciones de isótopos de oxígeno en fosfato de hueso y de esmalte de 25 individuos del conjunto residencial de Tlajinga 33 fueron utilizados para examinar la posibilidad de que los habitantes pudieran haber aceptado inmigrantes en su unidad social para mantener ya sea su viabilidad como grupo social o su nivel de productividad económica. Los valores δ18O y δ13C de hueso proveen un cuadro de la identidad geográfica y de la dieta, y los valores δ18O de esmalte proveen una visión de la ubicación geográfica durante el período de un desarrollo dental particular. Una proporción notable (29 por ciento) de los habitantes crecieron en otros lugares, pero la mayoría de esos inmigrantes habían vivido en Teotihuacan por muchos años antes de su muerte. Ni la reubicación geográfica ni las diferencias en sus dietas están asociadas con el género. La posición social de los extranjeros parece haber sido generalmente elevada, pero también fueron encontrados extranjeros en contextos de posición social baja. Las proporciones de isótopos estables que reflejan occupaciones por largo tiempo en Teotihuacan sugieren que la posición social fue conseguida, lo que apoya a la evidencia arqueológica.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , June 2004 , pp. 176 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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 Cited

Ambrose, Stanley H. 1990 Preparation and Characterization of Bone and Tooth Collagen for Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 17:431–451.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 Joseph Lambert and Gisela Grape, pp. 1–37. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Ayliffe, Linda K., and Chivas, Allen R. 1990 Oxygen Isotope Composition of the Bone Phosphate of Australian Kangaroos: Potential as a Palaeoenvironmental Recorder. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 54:2603–2609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binford, Lewis 1971 Mortuary Practices: Their Study and Potential. In Approaches to the Social Dimensions of Mortuary Practices, edited by J. A. Brown, pp. 6–29. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology No. 25. Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Brown, T.A., Earle Nelson, D., Vogel, J. S., and Southern, J.R. 1988 Improved Collagen Extraction by Modified Longin Method. Radiocarbon 30:171–177.Google Scholar
Bryant, J. Daniel, and Froelich, Philip N. 1995 A Model of Oxygen Isotope Fractionation in Body Water of Large Mammals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59:4523–4537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, J. Daniel, and Froelich, Philip N. 1996 Oxygen Isotope Composition of Human Tooth Enamel from Medieval Greenland: Linking Climate and Society: Comment. Geology 24:477–478.Google Scholar
Bryant, J. Daniel, Luz, Boaz, and Froelich, Philip N. 1994 Oxygen Isotope Composition of Fossil Horse Phosphate as a Record of Continental Palaeoclimate. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 107:303–316.Google Scholar
Chisholm, Brian S., Earle Nelson, D., Hobson, Keith A., Schwarcz, Henry P., and Knyf, Martin 1983 Carbon Isotope Measurement Techniques for Bone Collagen: Notes for the Archaeologist. Journal of Archaeological Science 10:335–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, Robert N., and Mayeda, Toshiko K. 1963 The Use of Bromine Pentafluoride in the Extraction of Oxygen from Oxides and Silicate for Isotopic Analysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 27:43–52.Google Scholar
Coplen, Tyler B. 1994 Reporting of Stable Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Abundances. Pure and Applied Chemistry 66:271–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Counihan, Carole, and Esterik, Penny Van (editors) 1997 Food and Culture. Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Cowgill, George L. 1997 State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Annual Review of Anthropology 26:129–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowson, R. A, Showers, William J., Wright, E. K., and Hoering, Thomas C. 1991 Preparation of Phosphate Samples for Oxygen Isotope Analysis. Analytical Chemistry 63:2397–2400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J. 1985 Post-Mortem Preservation and Alteration of “In Vivo” Bone Collagen Isotope Ratios in Relation to Paleodietary Reconstruction. Nature 317:806–809.Google Scholar
DeNiro, Michael J., and Weiner, Stephen 1988 Chemical, Enzymatic and Spectroscopic Characterization of “Collagen” and Other Organic Fractions from Prehistoric Bones. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52:2197–2206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Firsching, F. Henry 1961 Precipitation of Silver Phosphate from Homogeneous Solution. Analytical Chemistry 33:873–887.Google Scholar
Freidli, H., Lotscher, H., Oescheger, H., Siegenthaler, U., and Stauffer, B. 1986 Ice Core Record of the 13C/12C Ratio of Atmospheric C02, in the Past Two Centuries. Nature 324:237–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gómez Chávez, Sergio 1998 Nuevos Datos sobre la Relatión de Teotihuacan y el Occidente de México. Ia Antropología e Historia del Occidente de México: XXIV Mesa Redonda de la Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, pp. 146l–1493. Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, Mexico.Google Scholar
Katzenberg, M. Anne, Ann Herring, D., and Saunders, Shelly R. 1996 Weaning and Infant Mortality: Evaluating the Skeletal Evidence. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 39:177–199.3.0.CO;2-2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeling, Charles D., Mook, Willem G., and Tans, Pieter P. 1979 Recent Trends in the 13C/12C Ratio of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Nature 277:121–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohn, Matthew J. 1996 Predicting Animal d18O: Accounting for Diet and Physiological Adaptation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 60:4811–4829.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohn, Matthew J., Schoeninger, Margaret J., and Valley, John W. 1996 Herbivore Tooth Oxygen Isotope Compositions: Effects of Diet and Physiology. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 60:3889–3896.Google Scholar
Kolb, Charles 1987 Marine Shell Trade and Classic Teotihuacan, Mexico. BAR International Series No. 364. BAR, Oxford.Google Scholar
Krotser, P., and Rattray, Evelyn C. 1980 Manufactura y distribución de tres grupos cerámicos principales de Teotihuacan. Anales de Antropología 17:91–103.Google Scholar
Krueger, Harold W., and Sullivan, Charles H. 1984 Models for Carbon Isotope Fractionation between Diet and Bone. In Stable Isotopes in Nutrition, edited by Judith R. Turnland and Phyliss E. Johnson, pp. 205–222. American Chemical Society Symposium Series 258, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee-Thorp, Julia, Sealy, Judy C., and van der Merwe, Nikolaas J. 1989 Stable Carbon Isotope Ratio Differences Between Bone Collagen and Bone Apatite, and Their Relationship to Diet. Journal of Archaeological Science 16:585–599.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levinson, Alfred A., Luz, Boaz, and Kolodny, Yehoshua 1987 Variations in Oxygen Isotopic Compositions of Human Teeth and Urinary Stones. Applied Geochemistry 2:367–371.Google Scholar
Longin, R. 1971 New Method of Collagen Extraction for Radiocarbon Dating. Nature 230:241–242.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Longinelli, Antonio 1984 Oxygen Isotopes in Mammal Bone Phosphate: A New Tool for Paleohydrological and Paleoclimatological Research? Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48:385–390.Google Scholar
Longinelli, Antonio, and Peretti Paladino, A. 1980 Oxygen Isotope Composition of Water from Mammal Blood: First Results. Mass Spectrometry in Biomedical, Medical and Environmental Research 1:135–139.Google Scholar
Luz, Boaz, and Kolodny, Yehoshua 1985 Oxygen Isotope Variations in Phosphate of Biogenic Apatites. IV Mammal Teeth and Bones. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 75:29–36.Google Scholar
Luz, Boaz, Kolodny, Yehoshua, and Horowitz, Michal 1984 Fractionation of Oxygen Isotopes Between Mammalian Bone-Phosphate and Environmental Drinking Water. Geochimicaet Cosmochimica Acta 48:1689–1693.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marino, Bruno, and McElroy, Michael B. 1991 Isotopic Composition of Atmospheric O2, Inferred from Carbon in C4 Plant Cellulose. Nature 349:127–131.Google Scholar
McArthur, J.M., and Herczeg, A. 1990 Diagenetic Stability of the Isotopic Composition of Phosphate-Oxygen: Paleoenvironmental Implications. Phosphorite Research and Development, Geological Society Special Publication No. 52:119–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClung de Tapia, Emily, and Recillas, Horacio Tapia 1993 Características espaciales de la distribución de restos macrobotánicos en Oztoyahualco. In Anatomía de un conjunto residential teotihuacano en Oztoyahualco II: Los estudios específicos, edited by Linda Manzanilla, pp. 693–728. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico. Google Scholar
Millon, René 1973 The Teotihuacan Map, Part 1: Text. Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, Vol. 1. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Millon, René 1976 Social Relations in Ancient Teotihuacan. In The Valley of Mexico, edited by Eric R. Wolf, pp. 205–248. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. Google Scholar
Millon, René 1981 Teotihuacan: City, State, and Civilization. In Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. I, Archaeology, edited by Jeremy A. Sabloff.pp. 198–243. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
O’Leary, Marion 1988 Carbon Isotopes in Photosynthesis. Bioscience 38:328–336.Google Scholar
Pereira, Gregory 1996 Nuevos hallazgos funerarios en Loma Alta, Zacapu, Michoacán. In Las cuencas del occidente de México (Época Prehispánica), edited by Eduardo Williams and Phil Weigand, pp. 105–129. El Colegio de Michoacán, Zamora. Google Scholar
Price, T. Douglas, Manzanilla, Linda, and Middleton, William D. 2000 Immigration and the Ancient City of Teotihuacan in Mexico: A Study Using Strontium Isotope Ratios in Human Bone and Teeth. Journal of Archaeological Science 27:903–913.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn 1992 The Teotihuacan Burials and Offerings: A Commentary and Inventory. Publications in Anthropology 42. Vanderbilt University, Nashville.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn 1993 The Oaxaca Barrio at Teotihuacan. Monografías Mesoamericanas No. 1. Universidad de las Américas-Puebla, Cholula.Google Scholar
Reed, David M. 1999 Cuisine from Hun-Nal- Ye. In Reconstructing Ancient Maya Diet, edited by Christine White, pp. 183–196. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Google Scholar
Sahagún, Fray Bernardino de. 1950–1969 The Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain, edited by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles Dibble. 12 vols. School of American Research and University of Utah, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Sanders, William T., Nichols, Deborah, Storey, Rebecca, and Widmer, Randolph 1982 A Reconstruction of a Classic Period Landscape in the Teotihuacan Valley. Final Report to the National Science Foundation, Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Schwarcz, Henry P., Gibbs, Linda, and Knyf, Martin 1991 Oxygen Isotope Analysis as an Indicator of Place of Origin. In Snake Hill: An Investigation of a Military Cemetery from the War of 1812, edited by Susan Pfeiffer and Ron Williamson, pp. 262–268. Dundurn Press, Toronto. Google Scholar
Sempowski, Martha L. 1994 Mortuary Practices at Teotihuacan. In Mortuary Practices and Skeletal Remains at Teotihuacan, by Martha Sempowski and Michael W. Spence, pp. 1–311. Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, Vol. 3. Series edited by René Millon. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Google Scholar
Shemesh, Aldo 1990 Crystallinity and Diagenesis of Sedimentary Apatites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 54:2433–2438.Google Scholar
Shemesh, Aldo, Kolodny, Yehoshua, and Luz, Boaz 1983 Oxygen Isotopic Variations in Phosphate of Biogenic Apatites: II. Phosphoritic Rocks. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 64:405‘416.Google Scholar
Shemesh, Aldo, Kolodny, Yehoshua, and Luz, Boaz 1988 Isotope Geochemistry of Oxygen and Carbon in Phosphate and Carbonate of Phosphorite Francolite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52:2565–2572.Google Scholar
Smith, Bruce N., and Epstein, Samuel 1971 Two Categories of 13C/12C Ratios for Higher Plants. Plant Physiology 47:380–384.Google Scholar
Spence, Michael W. 1989 Excavaciones recientes en Tlailotlacan, el barrio oaxaqueño de Teotihuacan. Arqueología 5:81–104.Google Scholar
Spence, Michael W. 1992 Tlailotlacan, a Zapotec Enclave in Teotihuacan. In Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan, edited by Janet Berlo, pp. 59–88. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Spence, Michael W. 1994 Human Skeletal Material from Teotihuacan. In Mortuary Practices and Skeletal Remains at Teotihuacan, by Martha Sempowski and Michael W. Spence, pp. 1–311. Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, Vol. 3. Series edited by René Millon. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Google Scholar
Spence, Michael W. 1996 A Comparative Analysis of Ethnic Enclaves. In Arqueología Mesoamericana: Homenaje a William T. Sanders, edited by Alba Guadalupe Mastache, Jeffrey R. Parsons, Robert S. Santley and Mari Carmen Serra Puche, pp.333–353. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Spence, Michael W. 2002 Domestic Ritual in Tlailotlacan, Teotihuacan. In Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by Patricia Plunket, pp. 53–66. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Monograph No. 46. University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles. Google Scholar
Stenhouse, M.J., and Baxter, M.S. 1979 The Uptake of Bomb 14C in Humans. In Radiocarbon Dating, edited by R. Berger and H. Suess, pp. 324–341. University of California Press, Berkeley. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storey, Rebecca 1991 Residential Compound Organization and the Evolution of the Teotihuacan State. Ancient Mesoamerica 2:107–118.Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca 1992 Life and Death in the Ancient City of Teotihuacan. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca 1994 Addendum: Burial Descriptions from the Apartment Compound Tlajinga 33. In Mortuary Practices and Skeletal Remains at Teotihuacan, by Martha Sempowski and Michael W. Spence, pp. 429–445. Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, Vol. 3. Series edited by René Millon. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Google Scholar
Storey, Rebecca, and Widmer, Randolph 1999 The Burials of Tlajinga 33. In Prácticas funerarias de la Ciudadde los Dioses: Los enterramientos humanos de la antigua Teotihuacan, edited by Linda Manzanilla and Carlos Serrano, pp. 203–218. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico. Google Scholar
Stuart-Williams, Hilary LeQ., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1995 Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Silver Orthophosphate Using a Reaction with Bromine. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 58:3837–3841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuart-Williams, Hilary LeQ., Schwarcz, Henry P., White, Christine D., and Spence, Michael W. 1998 The Isotopic Composition and Diagenesis of Human Bone from Teotihuacan and Oaxaca, Mexico. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 126:1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tieszen, Larry, 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: Archaeology at the Molecular Level, edited by Joseph Lambert and Gisela Grupe, pp. 121–155. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. Google Scholar
White, Christine D. 1999 Reconstructing Maya Diet. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael W., Longstaffe, Fred J., Rattray, Evelyn C., and Law, Kimberley R. 2000 Un análysis de las proporciones de los isótopos del oxígeno en los entierros del barrio de los commerciantes. Segunda Mesa Redonda de Teotihuacan del Centro de Estudios Teotihuacanos. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Longstaffe, Fred J., Spence, Michael W and Law, Kimberley R. 2000a Teotihuacan State Representation at Kaminaljuyú: Evidence from Oxygen Isotopes. Journal of Anthropological Research 56:535–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, Christine D., Longstaffe, Fred J., and Law, Kimberley R. 2001 a Revisiting the Teotihuacan Connection at Altun Ha: Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Tomb f–8/1. Ancient Mesoamerica 12: 65–72.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Pendergast, David M., Longstaffe, Fred J., and Law, Kimberley R. 2001b Social Complexity and Food Systems at Altun Ha, Belize: The Isotopic Evidence. Latin American Antiquity 12(4):371–393.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael W. and Longstaffe, Fred J. 2000b The Identification of Foreigners in Mortuary Contexts using Oxygen-Isotope Ratios: Some Mesoamerican Examples. Paper presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, San Antonio.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael W., Stuart-Williams, Hilary Le-Q., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1998 Oxygen Isotopes and the Identification of Geographical Origins: The Valley of Oaxaca versus the Valley of Mexico. Journal of Archaeological Science 25:643–655.Google Scholar
White, Christine D., Spence, Michael W., Longstaffe, Fred J., Stuart-Williams, Hilary Le-Q., and Law, Kimberley R. 2002 Geographic Identities of the Sacrificial Victims from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan: Implications for the Nature of State Power. Latin American Antiquity 13(2): 217–236.Google Scholar
Widmer, Randolph 1987 The Evolution of Form and Function in a Teotihuacan Apartment Compound. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by Emily McClung de Tapia and Evelyn Rattray, pp. 317–368. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México. Google Scholar
Widmer, Randolph 1991 Lapidary Craft Specialization at Teotihuacan: Implications for Community Structure at 33:S3W1 and Economic Organization in the City. Ancient Mesoamerica 2:131–147.Google Scholar
Widmer, Randolph, and Storey, Rebecca 1993 Social Organization and Household Structure of a Teotihuacan Apartment Compound: S3WL33 of the Tlajinga Barrio. In Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica: Studies of the Household, Compound and Residence, edited by Robert Santley and Kenneth Hirth, pp. 87–104. CRC Press, Boca Raton. Google Scholar
Wright, Lori E., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1998 Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopes in Human Tooth Enamel: Identifying Breastfeeding and Weaning in Prehistory. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 106:1–18.Google Scholar
Wright, Lori E., and Schwarcz, Henry P. 1999 Correspondence Between Stable Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen Isotopes in Human Tooth Enamel and Dentine: Infant Diets and Weaning at Kaminaljuyú. Journal of Archaeological Science 26:1159–1170.Google Scholar
Yurtsever, Yuecel, and Gat, Joel R. 1981 Atmospheric Waters. In Stable Isotope Hydrology: Deuterium and Oxygen–18 in the Water Cycle, Technical Report Series, no. 210, edited by Joel R. Gat and Roberto Gonfiantini, pp 103–142, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.Google Scholar