Immigration and the Ancient City of Teotihuacan in Mexico: a Study Using Strontium Isotope Ratios in Human Bone and Teeth

Price, T. Douglas; Manzanilla, Linda; Middleton, William D.

doi:10.1006/jasc.1999.0504

Cited by 238 publications

(172 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In archeology, the Sr isotopic composition can be used to identify migrants and to examine movements of individuals (Bentley et al, , 2003Knudson et al, 2004Knudson et al, , 2005Kusaka et al, 2011;Montgomery et al, 2007;Müller et al, 2003;Price et al, 2000Price et al, , 2006aPrice et al, , 2006bSchweissing and Grupe, 2003;Tafuri et al, 2006;Tung and Knudson, 2008;Wright, 2005). Such information, in turn, provides insight into the dynamics and economy of past populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

Maurer

Galer

Knipper

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

212

190

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Sr/ 86 Sr reference maps (isoscapes) are a key tool for investigating past human and animal migrations. However, there is little understanding of which biosphere samples are best proxies for local bioavailable Sr when dealing with movements of past populations. In this study, biological and geological samples (ground vegetation, tree leaves, rock leachates, water, soil extracts, as well as modern and archeological animal teeth and snail shells) were collected in the vicinity of two early medieval cemeteries ("Thuringians", 5-6th century AD) in central Germany, in order to characterize 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the local biosphere. Animal tooth enamel is not appropriate in this specific context to provide a reliable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr baseline for investigating past human migration. Archeological faunal teeth data (pig, sheep/goat, and cattle) indicates a different feeding area compared to that of the human population and modern deer teeth 87 Sr/ 86 Sr such as freshwater bivalve shells and tree cores were examined in order to track potential historic anthropogenic contamination of the water and the vegetation. The data obtained from the archeological bivalve shells show that the modern rivers yield 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios which are similar to those of the past. However, the tree cores registered decreasing 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values over time towards present day likely mirroring anthropogenic activities such as forest liming, coal mining and/or soil acidification. The comparison of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the Thuringian skeletons excavated in the same area also shows that the vegetation samples are very likely anthropogenically influenced to some extent, affecting especially 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the shallow rooted plants.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

Maurer

Galer

Knipper

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

212

190

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“…The geochemistry of strontium isotopes is relatively well known (12), and 87 Sr͞ 86 Sr ratios have been used routinely as environmental tracers in geology (13,14), hydrology (15), ecology (16,17), and archaeology (18). 87 (16,17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strontium isotopes reveal distant sources of architectural timber in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

English

Betancourt

Dean

et al. 2001

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

148

118

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Between A.D. 900 and 1150, more than 200,000 conifer trees were used to build the prehistoric great houses of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, in what is now a treeless landscape. More than one-fifth of these timbers were spruce (Picea) or fir (Abies) that were hand-carried from isolated mountaintops 75-100 km away. Because strontium from local dust, water, and underlying bedrock is incorporated by trees, specific logging sites can be identified by comparing 87

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“…In these peripheral sectors, archaeologists have found evidence of funerary rituals mirroring the migrants' foreign practices; import wares from these foreign regions as well as local imitations; symbolic items such as stone slabs with glyphs, urns, and figurines (9)(10)(11); and the skeletons of individuals determined to be from other regions (12)(13)(14)(15).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, two commoner compounds have provided isotopic information identifying local Teotihuacanos: Tlajinga 33 along the southern periphery (13) and Oztoyahualco 15B:N6W3 on the northwestern periphery of the city (15). Nearer the city's core, Teotihuacan's intermediate elites managed neighborhood centers that fostered the movement of sumptuary goods and people.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cooperation and tensions in multiethnic corporate societies using Teotihuacan, Central Mexico, as a case study

Manzanilla

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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In this paper, I address the case of a corporate society in Central Mexico. After volcanic eruptions triggered population displacements in the southern Basin of Mexico during the first and fourth centuries A.D., Teotihuacan became a multiethnic settlement. Groups from different backgrounds settled primarily on the periphery of the metropolis; nevertheless, around the core, intermediate elites actively fostered the movement of sumptuary goods and the arrival of workers from diverse homelands for a range of specialized tasks. Some of these skilled craftsmen acquired status and perhaps economic power as a result of the dynamic competition among neighborhoods to display the most lavish sumptuary goods, as well as to manufacture specific symbols of identity that distinguished one neighborhood from another, such as elaborate garments and headdresses. Cotton attire worn by the Teotihuacan elite may have been one of the goods that granted economic importance to neighborhood centers such as Teopancazco, a compound that displayed strong ties to the Gulf Coast where cotton cloth was made. The ruling elite controlled raw materials that came from afar whereas the intermediate elite may have been more active in providing other sumptuary goods: pigments, cosmetics, slate, greenstone, travertine, and foreign pottery. The contrast between the corporate organization at the base and top of Teotihuacan society and the exclusionary organization of the neighborhoods headed by the highly competitive intermediate elite introduced tensions that set the stage for Teotihuacan’s collapse.

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Immigration and the Ancient City of Teotihuacan in Mexico: a Study Using Strontium Isotope Ratios in Human Bone and Teeth

Cited by 238 publications

References 21 publications

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

Strontium isotopes reveal distant sources of architectural timber in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Cooperation and tensions in multiethnic corporate societies using Teotihuacan, Central Mexico, as a case study

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