Cultural interaction and biological distance in postclassic period <scp>M</scp>exico

Ragsdale, Corey S.; Edgar, Heather J. H.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.22701

Cited by 32 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Recent events can mask earlier migration events. These results reflect earlier published results (Ragsdale and Edgar, ; ), indicating that the rare traits are reflecting the same pattern seen in the typical dataset using more common traits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This matrix was constructed from expected relationships drawn from ethnohistoric data from migration accounts described in codices (Bierhorst, ; Douglas, ), supplemented by archaeological data (Smith, ; Lekson and Cameron, ; Townsend, ; Benson et al ., ; Beekman, ). For example, the distance between Central and West Mexico in the Postclassic period is 27 (see Ragsdale and Edgar, , for an illustration of this model).H4: Populations sharing more recent migration and linguistic links would share rare incisor variant frequencies at a similar level.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The trade interaction matrix was created through evaluating distances between these market exchange forms, reflecting increased population interaction through trade. For example, the distance between Central and West Mexico in the Postclassic period is 3 (see Ragsdale and Edgar, , for an illustration of this model).H5: Populations sharing closer trade relationships would share rare incisor variant frequencies at a similar level.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mexico provides contextual data in which biological population relationships can be studied. Cultural similarities as evidenced by architectural features, ballcourts, trade items, and burial patterns suggest links between geographically separate regions (Ross, ; Hammond, ; López Austin and López Luján, ; DeLourdes Muñoz et al ., ; Ragsdale and Edgar, ). Previous work has consistently shown that trade is the most influential factor in population interaction among Postclassic populations (Ragsdale and Edgar, ; ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Frequencies of Rare Incisor Variations Reflect Factors Influencing Precontact Population Relationships in Mexico and the American Southwest

Edgar

Willermet

Ragsdale

et al. 2015

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Mexican prehistory is characterized by migration and population isolation in its earliest phase, followed by later inter‐population cultural interactions, such as politics and trade. While shared, common morphological variants are often informative about recent population events, rare trait variants have not been widely investigated to see whether they might be informative about earlier events. Here, we consider populations that show several rare variants at frequencies high enough to warrant such an investigation. Examining past population structure can help us understand population interactions across different periods of time, levels of migration, and population isolation/drift. Multiple‐origin populations may have more variation, including more and higher rates of rare traits. We examined maxillary lateral incisors in 1117 dentitions from 76 samples of Preclassic/Classic and Postclassic pre‐European contact Mexico and the American Southwest for the prevalence of rare lateral incisor variants. Variants observed included barrel, congenital absence, interruption groove, mesial marginal bending, peg, reduced, supernumerary, and talon teeth. The most common variant overall is interruption groove. Central Mexico, Huasteca, and the Lowland Yucatan region samples present the highest overall number of incisor variants. Higher frequencies of single unusual traits are commonly found in samples from smaller populations, while samples from larger population centres show a greater range of these rare variants. We investigated to see whether the pattern of rare incisor variant frequencies reflected early or later population history by comparing similarity/distance matrices and factor model matrices using Mantel tests and Generalized Procrustes analysis. Results show a weak relationship with the Postclassic period and shared migration/language and trade interaction models. We suggest that later cultural interactions have acted to mask earlier population history. Research on serial founder effects should be approached multiregionally and across time, to avoid missing inter‐region biological relationships. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Frequencies of Rare Incisor Variations Reflect Factors Influencing Precontact Population Relationships in Mexico and the American Southwest

Edgar

Willermet

Ragsdale

et al. 2015

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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“…The precontact samples represent several of the major groups from the Valley of Mexico, nearby Puebla and Toluca Valleys, Morelos, Oaxaca, West Mexico, and Veracruz on the Gulf Coast. Previous biological distance analyses using dental morphological data show noticeable differences among the precontact samples based on cultural group, economic and political structure, and migration histories (Ragsdale, ; Ragsdale & Edgar, ). All precontact samples are derived from Late Postclassic period (1200–1520) occupations, making them ideal for this study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in indigenous population structure in colonial Mexico City and Morelos

Ragsdale

Willermet

Edgar

2019

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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The Spanish conquest and colonization of Mexico had disastrous effects on indigenous people. Disease, coupled with drastic changes in the economic, political, and religious structures, led to an enormous depopulation event throughout the colony of New Spain. What remains unclear in historic and archeological accounts of Spanish colonization in Mexico is the effects of these changes on indigenous population structure and variation. In this study, we use biological distance and population structure analyses of two Mexico City church ossuary samples from the 16th to 17th centuries, as well as a sample of burials from a convent in nearby Morelos, to investigate these relationships at the center of the Spanish colony in Central Mexico. Colonial samples are compared with a large data set of precontact samples from Central Mexico and the surrounding regions, to evaluate changes in population structures. We compare colonial and precontact samples using biological distance analysis and a population structure program commonly applied in genetic analyses and modified for phenotypic data. Our results show that the colonial Mexico City samples are more biologically similar to the precontact samples from Veracruz, Toluca Valley, and West Mexico than to other precontact samples from the Valley of Mexico. The sample from Yecapixtla in Morelos is also most similar to the Veracruz, Toluca Valley, and West Mexico samples but is also somewhat similar to the precontact sample from Morelos and the nearby Oaxaca Valley. Generally, biological similarities among colonial samples and precontact samples do not correlate with geographic proximity or population size but coincide with cultural changes. Our study provides bioarcheological evidence of some degree of population replacement, resulting either from forced migration from surrounding areas for labor or through indigenous alliances with the Spanish conquerors. Our results also show concordance between traditional biodistance analysis and nontraditional analyses employed in population genetics studies.

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Biological Distance

Auerbach¹

2023

Handbook of Archaeological Sciences

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Cultural interaction and biological distance in postclassic period Mexico

Cited by 32 publications

References 37 publications

Frequencies of Rare Incisor Variations Reflect Factors Influencing Precontact Population Relationships in Mexico and the American Southwest

Frequencies of Rare Incisor Variations Reflect Factors Influencing Precontact Population Relationships in Mexico and the American Southwest

Changes in indigenous population structure in colonial Mexico City and Morelos

Biological Distance

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