RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: The role of migration in the cultural development of central Mexico has long been debated. Archaeological models suggest that central Mexico likely experienced increased migration during the Epiclassic period (600-900 CE) and that migrants may have originated in northwestern Mexico. While previous biodistance analyses of Classic and Postclassic populations have come to similar conclusions, none have incorporated Epiclassic skeletal populations. This study uses multi-scalar biodistance analyses to directly evaluate archaeological Epiclassic migration models within central Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study uses finite mixture and relationship (R) matrix analyses of cervicometric tooth dimensions to reconstruct patterns of biological affinity among Classic and Epiclassic Mesoamerican populations (n = 333), including at the central Mexican Epiclassic shrine site of Non-Grid 4 where the remains of at least 180 individuals were interred. RESULTS: Estimated inter-site phenotypic distances demonstrate support for some degree of both biological continuity and extra-local gene flow within central Mexican populations during the Classic-Epiclassic transition. Furthermore, estimated phenotypic distances and finite mixture posterior probabilities indicate central Mexican Epiclassic populations were biologically diverse, originating from various source populations throughout Mesoamerica, including the Bajío region, the Malpaso Valley, and the Oaxaca Valley. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that emphasizing both local and extra-local gene flow rather than population replacement may be more appropriate to understand central Mexican population structure during the Classic-Epiclassic transition. Moreover, analyses support previous archaeological migration models positing that Epiclassic migrants into central Mexico originated in northwestern Mexico, but also find evidence of Epiclassic migrants originating from previously unanticipated locales like southern Mexico.
Asunto(s)
Diente , Migrantes , Humanos , México/epidemiología , Dinámica Poblacional , AmbienteRESUMEN
Bioarchaeological approaches are well suited for examining past responses to political and environmental changes. In the Andes, we hypothesized that political and environmental changes around AD 1100 resulted in behavioral changes, visible as shifts in paleodiet and paleomobility, among individuals in the San Pedro de Atacama oases and Loa River Valley. To investigate this hypothesis, we generated carbon and oxygen isotope data from cemeteries dating to the early Middle Horizon (Larache, Quitor-5, Solor-3), late Middle Horizon (Casa Parroquial, Coyo Oriental, Coyo-3, Solcor-Plaza, Solcor-3, Tchecar), and Late Intermediate Period (Caspana, Quitor-6 Tardío, Toconce, Yaye-1, Yaye-2, Yaye-3, Yaye-4). Carbon isotope data demonstrate a greater range of carbon sources during the late Middle Horizon compared with the Late Intermediate Period; while most individuals consumed largely C3 sources, some late Middle Horizon individuals consumed more C4 sources. Oxygen isotope data demonstrate greater diversity in drinking water sources during the late Middle Horizon compared with the Late Intermediate Period. Water samples were analyzed to provide baseline data on oxygen isotope variability within the Atacama Desert, and demonstrated that oxygen isotope values are indistinguishable in the San Pedro and Loa Rivers. However, oxygen isotope values in water sources in the high-altitude altiplano and coast are distinct from those in the San Pedro and Loa Rivers. In conclusion, instead of utilizing a wider variety of resources after environmental and political changes, individuals exhibited a wider range of paleodietary and paleomobility strategies during the Middle Horizon, a period of environmental and political stability.
Asunto(s)
Cementerios/historia , Dieta/historia , Migración Humana/historia , Adulto , Antropología Física , Arqueología , Huesos/química , Isótopos de Carbono/análisis , Chile , Esmalte Dental/química , Ambiente , Femenino , Historia Antigua , Historia Medieval , Humanos , Masculino , PolíticaRESUMEN
This article presents an analysis of biological and spatial patterning of an Early Classic (A.D. 250-500) Chatino cemetery at the archaeological site of Charco Redondo, located in the lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico. The Early Classic was a time of political instability positioned between two phases of state-level centralization within the coastal valley. The communal cemetery at Charco Redondo adds significantly to the inventory of excavated graves from this time period and provides novel data on mortuary practices during a critical phase in the development of state level polities in the region. Cluster analysis of mortuary data is combined with intracemetery biodistance approaches to reconstruct how the Charco Redondo cemetery was organized with respect to biological relationships. Cluster analysis of mortuary data identified three groupings of burials. Multidimensional scaling of Euclidean distances and Gower coefficients based on 45 odontometric and 13 dental morphological variables suggests a strong relationship between grave characteristics and locations and phenotypic variation. In other words, the cemetery at Charco Redondo appears biologically kin-structured. The communal nature of the cemetery conflicts with the assumed "household" burial model for this time period. We propose the observed combination of features represents a transitional practice in which aspects of community, kin, and individual identity were signaled simultaneously within the funerary environment during a time of political transition in the Valley. This article highlights the utility of intracemetery biodistance analyses for examining dimensions of kinship, "house," and community throughout Mesoamerica where overarching models often mask regional variability.