Bioarchaeology and the Skeletons of the Pre-Columbian Maya

Scherer, Andrew

doi:10.1007/s10814-016-9098-3

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 175 publications

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“…A shift from wild C 3 -fed to domestic C 4 -fed animals may also account for the rise in human δ 13 C ratios. However, the levels of δ 15 N in Postclassic Maya populations ( n = 24, mean δ 15 N = 9.5 ± 0.9‰; data from [ 86 ]) are only slightly higher than the Postclassic turkeys’ mean ratio ( n = 6, mean δ 15 N = 8.3 ± 1.3‰) and do not seem to reflect the 3–5‰ spacing expected if turkeys were the main source of protein [ 90 ]. The isotopic similarity between Postclassic turkeys and Postclassic human populations suggest similar diets, probably based on high amounts of C 4 -plant proteins, and may alternatively indicate that turkeys were fed with human food scraps, secondarily increasing human δ 13 C ratios.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen from human Maya populations indicate a heterogeneous diet, in particular among the elite (e.g. [86][87][88][89]). Although the Postclassic remains analysed are scarce, an overall increase in δ 13 C (n = 24, mean δ 13 C collagen = −9,3 ± 0.8‰) has been interpreted as a dramatic increase in maize consumption at the end of the chronology [89].…”

Section: Postclassic Intensificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The earliest confirmed evidence of captively reared common turkeys has been found in the Yucatan, at the site of El Mirador, Guatemala, dating from 327 BCE to 54 CE. Most recently, ancient DNA (aDNA) and isotope analysis (C, N, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) has been used to identify specimens of common turkey, raised locally and provisioned with high quantities of C 4 plants, probably maize [29,30]. Other Preclassic evidence, such as a complete turkey skeleton discovered in a sepulture in Oaxtepec, Morelos, México [31] or a representation of a turkey on an ocarina found in a grave of Monte Alban, Oaxaca [32] demonstrates the symbolic importance of this bird even in these early periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity of management strategies in Mesoamerican turkeys: archaeological, isotopic and genetic evidence

et al. 2018

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The turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) represents one of the few domestic animals of the New World. While current research points to distinct domestication centres in the Southwest USA and Mesoamerica, several questions regarding the number of progenitor populations, and the timing and intensity of turkey husbandry remain unanswered. This study applied ancient mitochondrial DNA and stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) analysis to 55 archaeological turkey remains from Mexico to investigate pre-contact turkey exploitation in Mesoamerica. Three different (sub)species of turkeys were identified in the archaeological record (M. g. mexicana, M. g. gallopavo and M. ocellata), indicating the exploitation of diverse local populations, as well as the trade of captively reared birds into the Maya area. No evidence of shared maternal haplotypes was observed between Mesoamerica and the Southwest USA, in contrast with archaeological evidence for trade of other domestic products. Isotopic analysis indicates a range of feeding behaviours in ancient Mesoamerican turkeys, including wild foraging, human provisioning and mixed feeding ecologies. This variability in turkey diet decreases through time, with archaeological, genetic and isotopic evidence all pointing to the intensification of domestic turkey management and husbandry, culminating in the Postclassic period.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Postclassic Intensificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity of management strategies in Mesoamerican turkeys: archaeological, isotopic and genetic evidence

et al. 2018

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“…Given the expectation that increased genetic sharing would result in more similarity between populations, this is not surprising. Additionally, given the level of mobility across the area (Cucina 2015; Scherer 2017), the absence of clear distinctions between sites within a given time period is to be expected.…”

Section: Classic Maya Social Structure and Organization—popular Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Steps–dentition, Kinship, Social Groups, and Status in the Upper Belize River Valley: Small Sample Insights Into Classic Maya Social Organization in Central Western Belize

2019

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Nonmetric (morphological) and metric analyses of dental traits and dentition are an established and effective, but still much underutilized, means of determining biological relationships among the individuals comprising a population over several generations. Combining such dental analyses, a social organizational typology adapted from social psychology, and small sample statistics, this study hazards a trial examination of the evidence for biological affinity within and between three archaeologically perceived social groups represented in the Classic-period Belize Valley community of Buenavista del Cayo. The groups comprise traditional high elite and commoner categories, and a putative middle level of intermediate elites. Findings suggest a dichotomous kinship structure of elites and non-elites, but one within which there had emerged an emically and archaeologically distinct “middle” status group of intermediate elites or subelites that remained affined by blood to the subordinate non-elite commoners and peasantry. The study differs from previous examinations of ancient Maya social organization in employing a truly integrated bioarchaeological approach to the topic rather than what have generally been intrinsically insular archaeological or osteometric approaches.

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“…Infant and child sacrifice is claimed to have been practiced by many ancient societies, although archaeological evidence of intentional killing is often lacking, making these interpretations subject to debate. Old World archaeological evidence of child sacrifice is less than convincing in many cases [29–32], and in North America and Mesoamerica the evidence is frequently ambiguous as well [33], although there are a growing number of convincing examples from the Maya area [34–35]. The most well-documented archaeological evidence of child sacrifice in the New World is known from Offering 48 at the Templo Mayor in the Mexica city of Tenochtitlan [36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A mass sacrifice of children and camelids at the Huanchaquito-Las Llamas site, Moche Valley, Peru

et al. 2019

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Here we report the results of excavation and interdisciplinary study of the largest child and camelid sacrifice known from the New World. Stratigraphy, associated artifacts, and radiocarbon dating indicate that it was a single mass killing of more than 140 children and over 200 camelids directed by the Chimú state, c. AD 1450. Preliminary DNA analysis indicates that both boys and girls were chosen for sacrifice. Variability in forms of cranial modification (head shaping) and stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen suggest that the children were a heterogeneous sample drawn from multiple regions and ethnic groups throughout the Chimú state. The Huanchaquito-Las Llamas mass sacrifice opens a new window on a previously unknown sacrificial ritual from fifteenth century northern coastal Peru. While the motivation for such a massive sacrifice is a subject for further research, there is archaeological evidence that it was associated with a climatic event (heavy rainfall and flooding) that could have impacted the economic, political and ideological stability of one of the most powerful states in the New World during the fifteenth century A.D.

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Bioarchaeology and the Skeletons of the Pre-Columbian Maya

Cited by 16 publications

References 175 publications

Diversity of management strategies in Mesoamerican turkeys: archaeological, isotopic and genetic evidence

Diversity of management strategies in Mesoamerican turkeys: archaeological, isotopic and genetic evidence

First Steps–dentition, Kinship, Social Groups, and Status in the Upper Belize River Valley: Small Sample Insights Into Classic Maya Social Organization in Central Western Belize

A mass sacrifice of children and camelids at the Huanchaquito-Las Llamas site, Moche Valley, Peru

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