“…Most population movement initially occurs over short and medium distances in modern migration theory, so homelands could be estimated for the nonlocal individuals using the closest region with a similar Sr and O isotope value (Freiwald, ). Some of the values in our study are a close match with the Gulf Coast and central lowlands, which could include movement from Petexbatun and Central Lakes sites in the Petén of Guatemala.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Recent studies have revised the decades‐old definition in archeology of migration as colonization, to include all long‐term or permanent relocation that crosses a social, political, geographic, or cultural boundary. The border that separates two communities may be as large as an ocean or as small as a dirt road (Cabana & Clark, ; Finnegan, ; Freiwald, ; Hoerder, ). Bone chemistry assays further limit the identification of migration to relocation at least once between birth and burial between two areas with distinct isotope values.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The lowest 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in Mesoamerica, in the range of 0.703–0.704, come from the Quaternary volcanics of basaltic composition in the Tuxtla Mountains of Veracruz. The highest ratios in Mesoamerica are those of the Maya Mountains in southeastern Belize and elsewhere in the metamorphic highlands where there are small pockets of relatively ancient rocks in the range of 0.711–0.712 (Freiwald, ; Hodell et al, ; Thornton, , ; Wrobel et al, ).…”
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.
“…Most population movement initially occurs over short and medium distances in modern migration theory, so homelands could be estimated for the nonlocal individuals using the closest region with a similar Sr and O isotope value (Freiwald, ). Some of the values in our study are a close match with the Gulf Coast and central lowlands, which could include movement from Petexbatun and Central Lakes sites in the Petén of Guatemala.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Recent studies have revised the decades‐old definition in archeology of migration as colonization, to include all long‐term or permanent relocation that crosses a social, political, geographic, or cultural boundary. The border that separates two communities may be as large as an ocean or as small as a dirt road (Cabana & Clark, ; Finnegan, ; Freiwald, ; Hoerder, ). Bone chemistry assays further limit the identification of migration to relocation at least once between birth and burial between two areas with distinct isotope values.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The lowest 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in Mesoamerica, in the range of 0.703–0.704, come from the Quaternary volcanics of basaltic composition in the Tuxtla Mountains of Veracruz. The highest ratios in Mesoamerica are those of the Maya Mountains in southeastern Belize and elsewhere in the metamorphic highlands where there are small pockets of relatively ancient rocks in the range of 0.711–0.712 (Freiwald, ; Hodell et al, ; Thornton, , ; Wrobel et al, ).…”
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.
“…FIGURE 1.Map of sites surveyed with Classic period seated burials. No interments in seated positions were reported at Altun Ha, Benque Viejo, Blackman Eddy, Cahal Pech, Chan, Esperanza, Floral Park, Holmul, Piedras Negras, Pook's Hill, San Lorenzo (Belize), Tonina, Uaxactun, Xunantunich, Zubin (Adams 1998; Audet 2006; Braswell 1998; Brown et al 1996; Cheetham 2004; Connell 2000; Freiwald 2011; Freiwald, Mixter, and Billstrand 2014; Freiwald, Yaeger et al 2014; Garber et al 2004; Glassman 1995; Helmke 2006; Helmke et al 2001; Iannone 1996; MacKie 1985; McRae 2004; Mitchell 2006; Novotny 2012; Peuramaki-Brown 2009; Piehl 2002, 2006, 2008; Sanchez and Chamberlain 2002; Schubert et al 2001; Schwake 1996; Song 1995; Welsh 1988; Yaeger 2000), or other Belize cave and surface sites (Actun Halal, Actun Nak Beh, Actun Tunichil Muknal, Actun Uayazba Kab, Actun Yaxheel Ahau, Arenal, Cahal Pech, Cahal Uitz Na, Caledonia, Ontario, Pacbitun, Slate Altar Group, and X-Ual-Canil [Schwake 2008]).…”
Section: Excavation Strategies For Seated and Other Complex Burialsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…One burial in particular merited close attention to detail. Burial 11 contained the only upright flexed, or “seated,” individual, at a site where the standard burial position was a prone, extended body position with a southern orientation, like elsewhere in the Belize Valley (Freiwald 2011, 2012; Schwake 2008; Welsh 1988; Willey et al1965; Yaeger 2003). Only 63 seated burials were documented in a survey of >4,000 individuals buried at 63 central lowland sites during the Classic period (AD 250-900; Figure 1, Table 1).…”
Section: Excavation Strategies For Seated and Other Complex Burialsmentioning
Bioarchaeologists often are faced with the challenge of managing field excavations and lab analyses of skeletal remains at the same time—along with student and staff training and curation of osteological remains—and cannot be in two places at once. This article presents strategies for the recovery of human remains useful for large projects where multiple burials must be recovered simultaneously, remains are poorly preserved, and complex burial practices such as seated body positions and commingled remains are present. The excavation and curation strategies are presented in the context of the seated burial practice in the Maya region, a funerary tradition that requires detailed documentation of the burial as well as the body in order to understand its meaning. Classic period (AD 250-900) seated burials do not fit a single biological profile; in fact, the taphonomic profile of one seated individual at Actuncan, Belize, suggests a closer relationship to body processing and/or context than to status. Tropical and semitropical environmental conditions also require modified curation procedures, which present ethical challenges as well as physical ones.
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