Skeletal health and patterns of animal food consumption at S3W1:33 (Tlajinga 33), Teotihuacan

Widmer, Randolph J.; Storey, Rebecca

doi:10.1007/s12520-016-0417-x

Cited by 27 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Marine foods were not regularly consumed in this region, as has also been demonstrated by previous studies of diet in the Basin of Mexico (Casar et al 2017; Nado et al 2017; Storey et al 2019; White et al 2004). Widmer and Storey (2017) hypothesize that people in other parts of the Basin during the Classic period consumed foods such as insects and rodents rather than more usual sources of meat protein found in the Basin, like ducks and deer. This form of protein consumption may also be important in Formative Altica, which was not near the lakes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Glimpse of the People of Altica: Osteological and Isotopic/Radiocarbon Analysis

2019

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Altica is a rare first-farming village site in the Basin of Mexico that has survived to modern times. Thus, it provides a glimpse into life during the Early–Middle Formative period. While valuable archaeological information on the village was recovered in excavation, only four burials comprising four individuals were recovered, a very small sample. Two individuals are older-aged females; the third, a middle-aged male, was accompanied by prestigious nonperishable goods and indicates that there are status differences even at this early date. The final individual was a young male buried in a deviant manner, suggesting possible foul play. While all individuals have indicators of periods of poor health, stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen paint a more complete picture of the types of foods these individuals consumed over their lifetime. Radiogenic strontium isotopes of tooth enamel identify one individual, the young male buried in a deviant manner, as non-native to the Altica region. Thus, there is mystery in the manner of death, but even in this small sample, the wider connections Altica had that are so evident in the artefactual analysis are found in the skeletons. In addition, accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating provides a chronology of occupation through the people.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Glimpse of the People of Altica: Osteological and Isotopic/Radiocarbon Analysis

2019

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“…Protein and vitamin B12 resources were likely to be sufficient, if not abundant, for Tlajinga 33 residents. With that being said, people probably consumed foods such as turkey eggs and rodents, rather than what is often considered sources of meat protein (Widmer and Storey 2017). People living in all Tlajinga compounds likely shared this diet.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, it is now postulated that porotic hyperostosis is more likely caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 is necessary for humans, and only available from animal sources, and so the diet at Tlajinga 33 must have been sufficient to protect almost all individuals from this deficiency (Widmer and Storey 2017). A recent comparison of some of the Tlajinga 33 skeletons with a sample from La Ventilla, a more centrally located district within Teotihuacan, found that Tlajinga 33 had a higher prevalence of paleopathological indicators except for porotic hyperostosis (Storey et al 2017).…”

Section: Health Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…Further, previous work in the Tlajinga district offered the possibility of comparative and collaborative research. This includes the excavations undertaken at 33:S3E1 by Storey and Widmer (Storey 1985, 1992; Storey et al 2012; Widmer 1987, 1991; Widmer and Storey 1993, 2012, 2017), investigation of canals in the area by Nichols (1987, 1988), studies of the production of San Martín Orange pottery in the center of the district by Sheehy (1992) and Sullivan (2006), and ongoing geoarchaeological and paleoethnobotanical research by McClung de Tapia and colleagues. Some of these authors report the results of their analyses in other papers of this issue.…”

Section: Project Objectives and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coating courtyard floors and steps with lime plaster served the practical function of water impermeability (Barba and Cordova 2010). These may have been the only places in the compound where its occupants applied such a treatment, especially since imported lime may have been harder to access than amalgams made exclusively of local materials, and would follow a pattern documented at 33:S3E1 (Widmer and Storey 2017).…”

Section: Excavations At Compound 17:s3e1mentioning

confidence: 99%

New Research at Teotihuacan’s Tlajinga District, 2012–2015

et al. 2019

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Teotihuacan's Tlajinga district is a cluster of neighborhoods on the southern periphery of the city best known for earlier investigations at Compound 33:S3W1. New research includes excavations at two other apartment compounds and along the southern extension of the Street of the Dead. Excavation contexts, major finds, chronology, and preliminary interpretations are the subject of this article. We highlight evidence attesting to a major obsidian-blade workshop at Compound 17:S3E1, offerings, and other features at that compound and Compound 18:S3E1, and the tempo and processes of urbanization viewed through well-recorded stratigraphic sequences of the compounds and the Street of the Dead. We conclude that significant occupation began in the Miccaotli phase, but it was not until some point in the Early Tlamimilolpa phase that the dominant housing type became apartment compounds; the continuation of the axis of Street of the Dead in the district was accomplished by excavating in the volcanic tuft substrate (tepetate) and could have been undertaken by the inhabitants of the district themselves; and the presence of items such as a sculpted stone face, marine shell, and polychrome pottery demonstrates that commoners at Teotihuacan enjoyed some access to finer items within the interregional economy.

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Skeletal health and patterns of animal food consumption at S3W1:33 (Tlajinga 33), Teotihuacan

Cited by 27 publications

References 24 publications

A Glimpse of the People of Altica: Osteological and Isotopic/Radiocarbon Analysis

A Glimpse of the People of Altica: Osteological and Isotopic/Radiocarbon Analysis

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

New Research at Teotihuacan’s Tlajinga District, 2012–2015

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