Prehispanic Maya diet and mobility at Nakum, Guatemala: A multi-isotopic approach

Rand, Asta J.; Matute, Varinia; Grimes, Vaughan; Freiwald, Carolyn; Źrałka, Jarosław; Koszkul, Wiesław

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102374

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The application of sulfur isotope analyses ( δ 34 S) to expand our understanding of diet based on carbon ( δ 13 C) and nitrogen ( δ 15 N) isotope analyses from human bone collagen is relatively new in Maya archaeology [ 49 , 66 , 90 , 118 , 156 ]. Paleodietary studies from elsewhere in the ancient world have successfully demonstrated that δ 34 S values can be used to identify differences in prehistoric diets related to where food resources come from (e.g., terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal/marine habitats) as well as social factors such as sex and age [ 21 , 22 , 24 , 182 – 188 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While these sites are situated on the El Cayo formation, their catchment zone extends into the Red Bank geologic zone, and therefore influences their δ 34 S values. A recent study from Nakum, located ~35 km to the east of the upper Belize Valley in the neighboring Central lowlands of Guatemala, established baseline δ 34 S values for Paleocene limestones based on the analyses of archaeological fauna [ 66 ]. The results indicate a δ 34 S range of +12.5 to +14.5 ‰ for that site.…”

Section: Eastern Maya Lowlands Regional Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, burning has been shown to increase the δ 15 N values of plants for up to 5 years [ 61 – 63 ], which in turn could potentially impact the δ 15 N of consumers. While some archaeologists hypothesize that preferred animal species, like white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), were hunted in the immediate vicinity of milpas while grazing [e.g., 64 ], archaeological specimens have consistently more negative δ 13 C and lower δ 15 N values in the Eastern lowlands, reflecting a predominately C 3 diet [ 6 , 49 , 65 , 66 ]. Instead, elevated δ 15 N of plants procured from milpa s is more likely to impact human rather than animal consumers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sulfur isotopes as a proxy for human diet and mobility from the preclassic through colonial periods in the Eastern Maya lowlands

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Maya archaeologists have long been interested in understanding ancient diets because they provide information about broad-scale economic and societal transformations. Though paleodietary studies have primarily relied on stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic analyses of human bone collagen to document the types of food people consumed, stable sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis can potentially provide valuable data to identify terrestrial, freshwater, or marine/coastal food sources, as well as determine human mobility and migration patterns. Here we assess applications of δ34S for investigating Maya diet and migration through stable isotope analyses of human bone collagen (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S) from 114 individuals from 12 sites in the Eastern Maya lowlands, temporally spanning from the Late Preclassic (300 BCE—300 CE) through Colonial periods (1520–1800 CE). Results document a diet dominated by maize and other terrestrial resources, consistent with expectations for this inland region. Because δ34S values reflect local geology, our analyses also identified recent migrants to the Eastern lowlands who had non-local δ34S signatures. When combined with other indicators of mobility (e.g., strontium isotopes), sulfur isotopic data provide a powerful tool to investigate movement across a person’s lifespan. This study represents the largest examination of archaeological human δ34S isotope values for the Maya lowlands and provides a foundation for novel insights into both subsistence practices and migration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Eastern Maya Lowlands Regional Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sulfur isotopes as a proxy for human diet and mobility from the preclassic through colonial periods in the Eastern Maya lowlands

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“…The origin of the young man in Burial 18 ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr = 0.708489) is not easy to pinpoint because similar values are found in multiple places. The closest locations with these values are found at eastern lowland centers such as Nakum and San Bartolo, extending into the Belize Valley and along the coastal Yucatan Peninsula (Davies 2012; Freiwald 2011; Price et al 2015; Rand et al 2020). Similar values also exist in small burial samples to the west (Palenque) and distant south (Honduras; Price et al 2008; Wells et al 2014).…”

Section: Interpreting Isotopic Migrationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Early Colonialism and Population Movement at the Mission San Bernabé, Guatemala

et al. 2020

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Colonialism came late to northern Guatemala. The Spanish began to establish missions in the Peten Lakes region in the early 1700s, nearly 200 years after initial contact with the Mayas. Excavations in 2011–2012 at the Mission San Bernabé revealed European goods, nonnative animal species, and burial patterns that marked a new lifestyle. Who lived at the Mission San Bernabé, and where did they come from? The Spanish resettled indigenous populations to facilitate the colonization process; however, isotopic data are inconsistent with large population movements. Instead, strontium and oxygen isotope values in the tooth enamel and bones of individuals buried at the mission suggest a mostly local population. The data suggest in-migration from Belize, a region under nominal Spanish control, but with pre-Hispanic ties to the Peten. Changes did not come from migrants crossing a border; instead, the border itself moved and brought the colonial world to the Peten Mayas.

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“…Besides, recent analysis of the oxygen isotopes of a sub-adult tooth recovered from the fill of the talud-tablero platform G Sub-3 shows nonlocal δ 18 O value, which are in the range of central Mexico. Since the enamel of the tooth forms in utero , the nonlocal value of the sample reflects migration of this individual's mother to the Peten, most probably from central Mexico though other areas such as Guatemalan Highlands, southwestern Mexico, or the Pacific Coast cannot be excluded on the basis of very similar low δ 18 O values (Rand et al 2020). Several radiocarbon samples from the core of the latter construction produced dates that indicate the whole complex most probably postdates the entrada events.…”

Section: Early Classic and Teotihuacan Tiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Alliances and Trade Connections Observed in the Ceramic Record of the Classic Period: The Perspective From the Maya Site of Nakum, Guatemala

Źrałka

Helmke

Hermes³

et al. 2020

Ancient Mesoam

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Recent research carried out at the Maya site of Nakum, located in northeastern Guatemala, has brought about the discovery of a large collection of ceramic artefacts. This substantial assemblage, apart from monochrome ceramics, includes fragments of polychrome vessels that are decorated with elaborate iconographic scenes and painted hieroglyphic texts. Most of them date to the Late Classic period (ca. a.d. 600–800), which represents the peak of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. The style of these ceramics, their iconography and accompanying glyphic texts, supplemented in many cases by mineralogical and physicochemical analyses of the ceramic samples, indicate that Nakum was part of a broad and complex network of political and economic interactions between various sites and polities of the southern Maya lowlands in the Classic period. During the first part of the Late Classic period, Nakum seems to maintain close relations with Naranjo, probably serving as its vassal at least from the reign of its renowned king Aj Wosal. After the victory of Tikal over Naranjo in the first part of the eighth century, Nakum shows closer cultural and political connections with Tikal. Nevertheless, towards the end of the Classic era, when we observe the profound collapse of lowland Maya civilization, Nakum elites gain political independence from their former overlords.

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Prehispanic Maya diet and mobility at Nakum, Guatemala: A multi-isotopic approach

Cited by 9 publications

References 122 publications

Sulfur isotopes as a proxy for human diet and mobility from the preclassic through colonial periods in the Eastern Maya lowlands

Sulfur isotopes as a proxy for human diet and mobility from the preclassic through colonial periods in the Eastern Maya lowlands

Early Colonialism and Population Movement at the Mission San Bernabé, Guatemala

Political Alliances and Trade Connections Observed in the Ceramic Record of the Classic Period: The Perspective From the Maya Site of Nakum, Guatemala

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