Dietary differences in individuals buried in a multiethnic neighborhood in Teotihuacan: stable dental isotopes from Teopancazco

Casar, Isabel; Luque, P.A.; Manzanilla, Linda; Cienfuegos, Edith; Otero, Francisco Javier Sanjiao

doi:10.1007/s12520-016-0422-0

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Results presented in Table 3 include the findings of the δ 13 C and δ 15 N analyses. Similar to recent dietary studies conducted at Teotihuacan (Casar et al 2017; Nado et al 2017), the results support our hypothesis that there was a high dependency on C 4 or CAM plant resources in addition to animal protein sources that may also have consumed C 4 or CAM-based foods. The mean δ 13 C value of all three compounds combined is −8.2‰ (± 1.0‰, range −6.3‰ to −9.9‰, n = 16) indicating a diet heavy in maize (and possibly amaranth) consumption.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Similarly, the mean δ 15 N value for lower status individuals (9.9‰) was also slightly enriched over that of higher status individuals (9.1‰) and, again, was not statistically significant (Student's t- test, separate variance, t = −1.71, sd = 0.83, df = 15, p = 0.11). Comparable to results from a previous study of diet at Tlajinga (White et al 2004b) and across Teotihuacan (Casar et al 2017), it appears that diet cannot be used as a proxy for distinguishing social status among individuals at this district. Therefore, we reject our original hypothesis that higher status individuals at Tlajinga consumed more terrestrial animal protein while lower status individuals relied more heavily on C 4 plants such as maize.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…Metabolic fractionation for human consumers produces δ 13 C ratios for bone collagen of −7.0 ± 1.0‰ and results in expected C 4 signatures as high as −6‰ to −7‰. These results are demonstrated in past dietary studies of residential compounds at Teotihuacan (Casar et al 2017; Morales Puente et al 2012; White et al 2004a, 2004b). Amaranth is another C 4 plant natural to the Teotihuacan region, but it remains unclear if cultivation occurred as a food plant in prehistoric times (McClung de Tapia and Martínez-Yrizar 2017).…”

Section: Biogeochemical Analysismentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Metabolic fractionation for human consumers produces δ 13 C ratios for bone collagen of −7.0 ± 1.0‰ and results in expected C 4 signatures as high as −6‰ to −7‰. These results are demonstrated in past dietary studies of residential compounds at Teotihuacan(Casar et al 2017;Morales Puente et al 2012;White et al 2004aWhite et al , 2004b. Amaranth is another C…”

mentioning

confidence: 64%

“…For the residents of the Tlajinga district, we hypothesize individual diets will be similar between the three compounds, with evidence of abundant C 4 plant intake combined with signals of terrestrial animal protein consumption. This hypothesis is based on past studies of diet at Teotihuacan (Casar et al 2017; Nado et al 2017; White et al 2004b).…”

Section: Biogeochemical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Residential Burial Along the Southern Street of the Dead: Skeletons and Isotopes

2019

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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.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 56%

Section: Biogeochemical Analysismentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Metabolic fractionation for human consumers produces δ 13 C ratios for bone collagen of −7.0 ± 1.0‰ and results in expected C 4 signatures as high as −6‰ to −7‰. These results are demonstrated in past dietary studies of residential compounds at Teotihuacan(Casar et al 2017;Morales Puente et al 2012;White et al 2004aWhite et al , 2004b. Amaranth is another C…”

mentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Biogeochemical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Residential Burial Along the Southern Street of the Dead: Skeletons and Isotopes

2019

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Toward a bioarchaeology of urbanization: Demography, health, and behavior in cities in the past

Betsinger

DeWitte

2021

American J Phys Anthropol

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Urbanization is one of the most important settlement shifts in human history and has been the focus of research within bioarchaeology for decades. However, there have been limited attempts to synthesize the results of these studies in order to gain a broader perspective on whether or how urbanization affects the biology, demography, and behavior of humans, and how these potential effects are embodied in the human skeleton. This paper outlines how bioarchaeology is well-suited to examine urbanization in the past, and we provide an overview and examples of three main ways in which urbanization is studied in bioarchaeological research: comparison of (often contemporaneous) urban and rural sites, synchronic studies of the variation that exists within and between urban sites, and investigations of changes that occur within urban sites over time. Studies of urbanization, both within bioarchaeology and in other fields of study, face a number of limitations, including a lack of a consensus regarding what urban and urbanization mean, the assumed dichotomous nature of urban versus rural settlements, the supposition that urbanization is universally bad for people, and the assumption (at least in practice) of homogeneity within urban and rural populations. Bioarchaeologists can address these limitations by utilizing a wide array of data and methods, and the studies described here collectively demonstrate the complex, nuanced, and highly variable effects of urbanization.

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Cortical bone maintenance and loss in Colonial Mexico City: Analysis of sex‐ and age‐related differences

Wesp

López

2022

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Previous research has demonstrated significant age‐ and sex‐related differences in bone loss in European populations. This study utilizes metacarpal radiogrammetry to analyze cortical bone thickness and bone loss for a sample of indigenous individuals (n = 120) from the Hospital Real San José de los Naturales (HSJN) skeletal collection in Colonial Mexico City. The results indicate statistically significant differences between males and females in total length, total width, and cortical thickness, but no difference in the standardized cortical index measure. There are significant differences in age groups for all measures except total length and the population follows a similar pattern of decreased cortical index over the life course. When age and sex are considered together, females begin this bone loss from young to middle adulthood with continued loss in old adulthood; however, males do not see a decrease in cortical index until old adulthood. While these results are consistent with previously reported patterns of bone loss, the HSJN population has higher levels of peak cortical bone in young adulthood than any archeological European populations. We suggest that this increased peak bone mass may reflect differences in diet that include higher levels of calcium and magnesium as a result of the traditional practice of softening corn by boiling it in limewater (nixtamalization). Similarly, a small sample of African descendant individuals (n = 5) from the HSJN population was compared with the averages for indigenous individuals in the collection and indicated a variation in bone size, though predominantly higher levels of cortical index that may also suggest important population differences that should be further explored. This research provides important comparative data on bone maintenance and loss that supports previous hypotheses that a higher nutrient diet in modern populations may be the key factor in increased peak bone mass compared with archeological populations.

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Dietary differences in individuals buried in a multiethnic neighborhood in Teotihuacan: stable dental isotopes from Teopancazco

Cited by 15 publications

References 75 publications

Residential Burial Along the Southern Street of the Dead: Skeletons and Isotopes

Residential Burial Along the Southern Street of the Dead: Skeletons and Isotopes

Toward a bioarchaeology of urbanization: Demography, health, and behavior in cities in the past

Cortical bone maintenance and loss in Colonial Mexico City: Analysis of sex‐ and age‐related differences

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