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A HIGH-RESOLUTION CHRONOLOGY FOR THE PALATIAL COMPLEX OF XALLA IN TEOTIHUACAN, MEXICO, COMBINING RADIOCARBON AGES AND ARCHAEOMAGNETIC DATES IN A BAYESIAN MODEL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2020

Laura E Beramendi-Orosco Open the ORCID record for Laura E Beramendi-Orosco [Opens in a new window] ,
Galia Gonzalez-Hernandez ,
Ana M Soler-Arechalde  and
Linda R Manzanilla
Laura E Beramendi-Orosco*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City04510, México Laboratorio Universitario de Radiocarbono, Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City04510, México
Galia Gonzalez-Hernandez
Affiliation:
Laboratorio Universitario de Radiocarbono, Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City04510, México Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City04510, México
Ana M Soler-Arechalde
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City04510, México
Linda R Manzanilla
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City04510, México
*
*Corresponding author. Email: laurab@geologia.unam.mx.
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Abstract

Teotihuacan is one of the most studied archaeological sites in Mesoamerica because of its exceptional size and urban planning; however, its last years of occupation and abandonment are still under debate. We report a high-resolution chronology for the Xalla complex integrating archaeomagnetic dates, radiocarbon (14C) ages, and detailed archaeological information about sample type and context in a Bayesian model. The model includes 42 14C ages and 7 archaeomagnetic dates grouped in 6 phases, including samples from collapsed roofs with 14C ages earlier than expected, suggesting a problem of inbuilt age. The archaeomagnetic dates on lime plasters were classified in unburned samples, related to the time of construction, and burned samples, related to the Big Fire associated to the abandonment of Teotihuacan. The modeled 14C ages resulted in shorter intervals, with the possibility of differentiating the construction phases, confirming that big beams had inbuilt age. Further, combining the two dating methods and classifying lime plaster samples in burned and unburned, it was possible to date different events within the same archaeological context. It is concluded that by combining these two dating methods and understanding the moment that each sample is dating, it is possible to obtain solid and precise chronologies.

Keywords

archaeomagnetic datingBayesian chronologyinbuilt ageTeotihuacan
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 63 , Issue 4: Featuring: CLARa Proceedings of the 1st Latin American Radiocarbon Conference , August 2021 , pp. 1073 - 1084
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press for the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 1st Latin American Radiocarbon Conference, Rio de Janeiro, 29 Jul.–2 Aug. 2019

References

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