Local water resource variability and oxygen isotopic reconstructions of mobility: A case study from the Maya area

Scherer, Andrew; Carteret, Alyce De; Newman, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2014.11.006

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Water in lakes, ponds, and storage vessels can have higher δ 18 O values due to evaporation of the lighter isotope. Rivers can have δ 18 O that differs from local rainfall values, resulting in diversity in local average values (Scherer, de Carteret, & Newman, ). Even beverage‐preparation techniques can affect mean dietary δ 18 O (Brettell, Montgomery, & Evans, ; Knudson, ).…”

Section: Isotopic Proveniencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Place of origin of the sacrificial victims in the sacred Cenote, Chichén Itzá, Mexico

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Tiesler

Freiwald

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: The ancient city of Chichén Itzá in the northern Yucatán of Mexico was one of the most important in the Maya area, but its origins and history are poorly understood. A major question concerns the origins of the peoples who founded and later expanded the ancient city. Hundreds of people were ritually executed and their bodies thrown into the waters of the Sacred Cenote at Chichén. Materials and methods: In this study, we use strontium and oxygen isotopes to study the place of origin of a large sample of these individuals. Isotopes are deposited in human tooth enamel. Enamel forms during the first years of life, remains largely unchanged long past death, and can provide a signature of the place of birth. If the isotope ratios in enamel are different from the place of death, the individual must have moved during his/her lifetime. Results: Comparison of our results from the cenote with information on isotope ratios across the Maya region and elsewhere suggests that the individuals in the cenote came from a number of different parts of Mexico and possibly beyond. Discussion: It is not known if all of the sacrificial victims resided in Chichén Itzá, but their suggested origins likely reflect patterns of population movement and social networks that existed between Chichén Itzá and both neighboring and distant regions.

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Section: Isotopic Proveniencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Place of origin of the sacrificial victims in the sacred Cenote, Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Price

Tiesler

Freiwald

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Oxygen isotopes have been used as an additional means of tracking movement in this area because δ 18 O can reflect differences in precipitation and the size and type of nearby water bodies (e.g. lakes, aguadas , and reservoirs); however, studies have found that humans exhibiting similar strontium ratios at a single site may have significantly different δ 18 O values [16], and that catchment sites themselves can exhibit significant δ 18 O variation throughout the year [15]. Given the older age of the underlying sedimentary rock (mostly limestone) in this region, compared to bedrock in the Northern Lowlands, we would expect lead isotope ratios from this area to be more radiogenic than the Yucatan rocks.…”

Section: Geology Of the Maya Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead (Pb) Isotope Baselines for Studies of Ancient Human Migration and Trade in the Maya Region

et al. 2016

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We examined the potential use of lead (Pb) isotopes to source archaeological materials from the Maya region of Mesoamerica. The main objectives were to determine if: 1) geologic terrains throughout the Maya area exhibit distinct lead isotope ratios (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb), and 2) a combination of lead and strontium ratios can enhance sourcing procedures in the Mesoamerica region. We analyzed 60 rock samples for lead isotope ratios and a representative subset of samples for lead, uranium, and thorium concentrations across the Maya region, including the Northern Lowlands of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula, the Southern Lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, the Volcanic Highlands, the Belizean Maya Mountains, and the Metamorphic Province/Motagua Valley. Although there is some overlap within certain sub-regions, particularly the geologically diverse Metamorphic Province, lead isotopes can be used to distinguish between the Northern Lowlands, the Southern Lowlands, and the Volcanic Highlands. The distinct lead isotope ratios in the sub-regions are related to the geology of the Maya area, exhibiting a general trend in the lowlands of geologically younger rocks in the north to older rocks in the south, and Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the southern highlands. Combined with other sourcing techniques such as strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O), a regional baseline for lead isotope ratios can contribute to the development of lead isoscapes in the Maya area, and may help to distinguish among geographic sub-regions at a finer scale than has been previously possible. These isotope baselines will provide archaeologists with an additional tool to track the origin and movement of ancient humans and artifacts across this important region.

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“…Fritz et al, 1987;Ingraham and Taylor, 1991;Dutton et al, 2005) and archaeological studies (e.g. Daux et al, 2008;Knudson, 2009;Scherer et al, 2015) have shown that δ 18 O from water samples may differ from rainfall and that the surface water oxygen values not always follow the expected patterns based on environmental variables. In our case, this discrepancy could be due to the lack of local empirical references (i.e.…”

Section: Terrestrial Surface Water In Central-eastern North Patagoniamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Oxygen is a complex isotopic tracer, not just for its fractionation inside of the human body, but because the kind of baselines that we use impacts directly on the archaeological inferences (Knudson, 2009;Scherer et al, 2015; see also discussion in Barberena et al, 2017). The assumption that δ 18 O pp is an isotopic mirror of δ 18 O tsw has a significant archaeological implication, because it could lead to an overestimation of "non-locals" in provenance studies (e.g.…”

Section: Terrestrial Surface Water In Central-eastern North Patagoniamentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to the bases: Building a terrestrial water δ18O baseline for archaeological studies in North Patagonia (Argentina)

Serna

Prates

Valenzuela

et al. 2020

Quaternary International

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Archaeology has been using stable oxygen as an isotopic tracer linked with water consumption for decades, and it has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool to assess paleomobility in bioarchaeology. Central-eastern North Patagonia (Argentina) is an especially appropriate region to apply it since it presents a high density of huntergatherer burials, it was a nodal zone criss-crossed by an extensive network of important routes, and it is characterized by a high environmental fragmentation due to the scarcity of fresh water sources. The aim of this paper is to build an empirical stable oxygen isotope baseline of terrestrial surface waters to assess the potentiality of tracing past human movement. We analyzed 46 water samples from 13 locations with permanent sources (rivers, springs, streams), compared it with predictions of precipitation and evaluated it considering seasonal variation, altitude and distance from the coast. Our results show that different post-precipitation processes change the isotopic signal from the sources with respect to the local precipitation, and highlight the relevance of analyzing terrestrial water sources. According to their oxygen isotope values we defined five hydrologic zones: Colorado River, Negro River, Closed Basins and Plains, Eastern and Western Somuncurá Foothills. Their identification shows the potential to address past human movement using stable oxygen water baselines in central-eastern North Patagonia.

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Local water resource variability and oxygen isotopic reconstructions of mobility: A case study from the Maya area

Cited by 21 publications

References 62 publications

Place of origin of the sacrificial victims in the sacred Cenote, Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Place of origin of the sacrificial victims in the sacred Cenote, Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Lead (Pb) Isotope Baselines for Studies of Ancient Human Migration and Trade in the Maya Region

Back to the bases: Building a terrestrial water δ18O baseline for archaeological studies in North Patagonia (Argentina)

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