“…For example, small numbers of samples with narrow ranges may include outlier values that would be considered “local” in a larger dataset in an area with greater geologic diversity and/or catchment use. In addition, strontium isotope values in the Maya region are similar to those identified elsewhere in Meso- and Central America and the Caribbean (Laffoon et al 2012; Miller Wolf and Freiwald 2018; Price et al 2008, 2019). Isotope values are simply numbers, and additional lines of evidence, from texts to burial goods, are critical for the interpretation of their meaning.…”
Section: Isotopic Migration Methodssupporting
confidence: 80%
“…Figure 2.Strontium isotope values associated with Postclassic and Colonial centers in and around the Maya region. For detail, see Freiwald (2020a), Freiwald et al (2019), Miller Wolf and Freiwald (2018), Ortega-Muñoz et al (2019), Price et al (2006, 2008, 2019), and Suzuki et al (2015). …”
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.
“…For example, small numbers of samples with narrow ranges may include outlier values that would be considered “local” in a larger dataset in an area with greater geologic diversity and/or catchment use. In addition, strontium isotope values in the Maya region are similar to those identified elsewhere in Meso- and Central America and the Caribbean (Laffoon et al 2012; Miller Wolf and Freiwald 2018; Price et al 2008, 2019). Isotope values are simply numbers, and additional lines of evidence, from texts to burial goods, are critical for the interpretation of their meaning.…”
Section: Isotopic Migration Methodssupporting
confidence: 80%
“…Figure 2.Strontium isotope values associated with Postclassic and Colonial centers in and around the Maya region. For detail, see Freiwald (2020a), Freiwald et al (2019), Miller Wolf and Freiwald (2018), Ortega-Muñoz et al (2019), Price et al (2006, 2008, 2019), and Suzuki et al (2015). …”
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.
“…migration, diaspora, and mobility within the region [44]. Researchers have used radiogenic strontium isotopes to reconstruct ancient migration patterns [12,17,41,[45][46][47][48][49][50], the geographic origins of sacrificial victims [13,51], and past animal trade and management networks [52,53], as well as long distance material culture trade networks [54] and historic diasporas [55,56].…”
Section: Strontium Isotopes and Paleomobility Across Mesoamericamentioning
Radiogenic strontium isotopes (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) have long been used in analyses of paleomobility within Mesoamerica. While considerable effort has been expended developing 87 Sr/ 86 Sr baseline values across the Maya region, work in central Mexico is primarily focused on the Classic period urban center of Teotihuacan. This study adds to this important dataset by presenting bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values across central Mexico focusing on the Basin of Mexico. This study therefore serves to expand the utility of strontium isotopes across a wider geographic region. A total of 63 plant and water samples were collected from 13 central Mexican sites and analyzed for 87 Sr/ 86 Sr on a Thermo-Finnigan Neptune multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS). These data were analyzed alongside 16 published 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values from two additional sites within the region of interest. A five-cluster k-means model was then generated to determine which regions of the Basin of Mexico and greater central Mexico can and cannot be distinguished isotopically using 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values. Although the two clusters falling within the Basin of Mexico overlap in their local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges, many locations within the Basin are distinguishable using 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values at the site-level. This study contributes to paleomobility studies within central Mexico by expanding knowledge of strontium isotope variability within the region, ultimately allowing researchers to detect intra-regional residential mobility and gain a greater understanding of the sociopolitical interactions between the Basin of Mexico and supporting outlying regions of central Mexico.
“…Distinct, measurable differences exist between many of these places. There are of course other sources of information on strontium baselines in the Maya region that can be consulted (e.g., Gilli, Hodell, Kamenov, & Brenner, ; Hodell, Quinn, Brenner, & Kamenov, ; Sharpe et al, ; Thornton, , ; Miller Wolf and Freiwald, ; Suzuki, Paredes, Price, Burton, & Vides, ).…”
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.
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