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Strontium Isotopes and the Study of Human Mobility in Ancient Mesoamerica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

T. Douglas Price ,
James H. Burton ,
Paul D. Fullagar ,
Lori E. Wright ,
Jane E. Buikstra  and
Vera Tiesler
T. Douglas Price
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI53706 (tdprice@wisc.edu)
James H. Burton
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI53706 (jhburton@wisc.edu)
Paul D. Fullagar
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3315
Lori E. Wright
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4352
Jane E. Buikstra
Affiliation:
School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
Vera Tiesler
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, km. 1 Carretera Mérida Tizimín, CP. 97305; Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
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Abstract

We analyzed strontium isotopes in more than 500 samples of shell, bone, and dental enamel from modern and archaeological contexts throughout Mesoamerica. The results correspond closely with expectations based upon the local geology and earlier measurements of geological materials. The results show that isotopic variation is significant across Mesoamerica. Thus strontium isotope ratios in dental enamel, which mark the place of childhood residence, can be used not only to document mobility but also in some cases to determine geographic origin. We present five archaeological case studies to illustrate the anthropological significance and range of applications for this technique: the origins of individuals in the “Oaxaca Barrio” at Teotihuacan, a northern origin for the founder of Copan, a local king at Tikal, the regional origin of two of Palenque's rulers, and individuals of African birth in a colonial cemetery in Campeche.

Resumen

Resumen

Se evaluaron las proporciones isotópicas de estroncio en más de quinientas muestras fósiles y modernas de concha, hueso y esmalte dental, colectadas en numerosos sitios de toda Mesoamérica. Los resultados reflejan estrechamente las expectativas fundamentadas en la geología local y algunas medidas previas que habían sido obtenidas de diferentes sustratos geológicos. Los presentes datos se emplearán en el diseño de un mapa rector que mostrará pan-regionalmente los rangos de relación isotópica de estroncio. Se puede utilizarse el análisis de las proporciones isotópicas de estroncio en el esmalte dental, el cual retiene las características del lugar de nacimientos, no solo para investigar aspectos generales de movilidad, sino también para determinar el origen geográfico de un individuo. Aquí se presentan cinqo estudios de caso arqueológicos que ilustran la relevancia y gama de aplicaciones de esta técnica: los orígenes de los individuos del “Barrio Oaxaqueño” en Teotihuacan; la procedencia de el fundador del linaje dinástico de Copán, del norte; el origen intra-regional de la “Reina Roja” de Palenque y de Janaab' Pakal; así como la identificación de esclavos oriundos de África en un cementerio colonial de Campeche.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , June 2008 , pp. 167 - 180
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2008

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