Residential Histories of the Human Sacrifices at the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan

Abstract

To investigate geographic origins of the sacrificial Burials 2–5 from the Moon Pyramid at Teotihuacan and to reconstruct changes in residence since their childhoods, we analyzed tooth enamel for oxygen- and strontium-isotope ratios and bone just for oxygen-isotope ratios. The combination of these analytical techniques involves both climatic and geological variables, therefore enhancing resolution of geographic identification. Most of the sacrificed individuals appear to have been born in a foreign location. These regions probably include other areas within the Basin of Mexico and the central highlands, as well as the Gulf Coast and the Sierra Madre del Sur. Other possible regions of origin are the southern highlands, the Motagua Valley, and the Maya Lowlands. There is considerable overlap in the oxygen-isotope ratios between the Moon Pyramid and Feathered Serpent Pyramid victims, but each structure contains a group of isotopically distinct individuals. The Moon Pyramid sacrifices include some individuals with high oxygen-isotope ratios, possibly indicating the Gulf Coast or Maya Lowlands, whereas the Feathered Serpent Pyramid contains a distinct group with very low oxygen-isotope ratios, possibly indicating Oaxaca, Michoacan, or the coastal plain and piedmont of Guatemala. The sacrifices in the two pyramids also differ in their patterns of movement. Most of the Moon Pyramid victims appear to have arrived in the city recently, but the majority of those from the Feathered Serpent Pyramid had lived in Teotihuacan for a long time before their death.

Teotihuacan

“…The well-known Oaxaca (Zapotec) Barrio and the Merchants' Barrio continue to be the subject of research (Croissier 2007;Gómez and Gazzola 2009;Rattray 2001, Spence 2002Spence et al 2004Spence et al , 2005White et al 2000bWhite et al , 2004a. We now have a much richer view of the city's ethnic complexity and immigration, including from western Mexico, Oaxaca, the Gulf Lowlands, and central Mexico (Gómez 2002;Manzanilla , 2015Michelet and Pereira 2009;Plunket and Uruñuela 2012;Price et al 2000;Spence 2005;Spence et al 2004Spence et al , 2013White et al 2002White et al , 2003White et al , 2007. Gómez (2002;Gazzola 2007, 2009) has identified a West Mexico barrio near the Zapotec barrio on the western periphery of Teotihuacan (White et al 2004a).…”

“…Sugiyama and López Luján (2007, p. 134) think the three individuals were very high-status foreigners, perhaps Maya rulers, warriors, merchants, or ambassadors, brought back to Teotihuacan as war captives (White et al 2007). Such sacrifices were a statement of state military power and authority (Sugiyama and López Luján 2007, p. 142).…”

Reconstructing ancient Maya animal trade through strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis

“…Within the region, the method has been used previously to identify human migration (Buikstra et al, 2003;Price, 2006;Price et al, 2000Price et al, , 2008Price et al, , 2010White et al, 2007;Wright, 2005aWright, , 2005b. Fewer studies have used the method to study animal movement and trade in either Old or New World contexts (Freiwald, 2010;Shackleton and Elderfield, 1990;Sykes et al, 2006;Thornton et al, in press;Vanhaerena et al, 2004;Viner et al, 2010;Yaeger and Freiwald, 2009).…”

Geographic origins and dietary transitions during the bronze age in the oman peninsula

“…18 O values within skeletons at a single site (Rozanski et al, 1993;White et al, 2007;Knudson, 2009;Price et al, 2010;Brettell et al, 2012;Evans et al, 2012). Further variation may be expressed both between teeth and within a tooth from a single individual, particularly since enamel of the permanent dentition typically forms over a number of years, allowing the potential for considerable oxygen isotope variability during the incorporation of these isotopes (Fricke and O'Neil, 1996;Wright and Schwarz, 1998;Weidemann et al, 1999).…”